Unfathomable
by i got to pee NOW
Summary: Danny's eyes widened, remembering the day that he returned home from wherever he had been kidnapped. All he remembered before that was darkness, and a numbing cold that had haunted his nightmares even months after escaping. He didn't remember who had taken him, or what they had done to him, but the scars on his body were his only clue. Danny/Phantom Pitchpearl sequel to Depths.
1. Chapter 1

Blue eyes opened.

They ached, caked with the evidence of his exhaustion and he groaned, reaching up a hand to rub the pain away

Danny recalled the amount of coffee he had consumed the last three days, and he was surprised he hadn't had a heart attack. He rubbed his face, trying to massage away the soreness around his eyes, but the dark circles that decorated his face with sleep-deprivation wouldn't be that easy to get rid of.

Danny's hand brushed up against some paper, and when his eyes focused a little more, he was able to lift his head off his arm and glance down at the mess he had left his desk in. His computer was left on as if he hadn't even had the energy to turn it off last night, let alone make it back to bed either apparently. Papers were scattered around the expanse of his desk, scribbled notes and messy plot circles triggering the memories of the night before right before he went into a deep coma-like sleep for what appeared to be 14 and a half hours.

He didn't know what possessed him to pull 2 all-nighters and spend the last three days writing this darn story, but he was lucky he had only missed 1 day of school. Today. It was already 2 pm and there was no chance that he was going to make it, or even bother to _try_ when it was already 7th period.

Danny groaned painfully, his head was killing him now that he slept all the caffeine out of his system. He was never going to touch another Mtn. Dew or another triple expresso ever again.

Looking up at his computer, he noticed that he hadn't even bothered to close the window he had been working on. He knew he had his work cut out for him in editing if the amount of little red squiggly lines covering the word document was anything to go by. He must have had one hell of an inspiration to torture himself just to get this damn story done as quickly as possible. He had never heard of an author who had written an entire 43 chapter book in three days, but it was a decent one... or at least he thought so.

It had to be if he was feeling this dead inside over it.

He didn't know where he had gotten so much motivation so suddenly, but the amount of passion and angst that he felt while writing it was more than he could personally handle.

Danny was proud to have finished the book, but the depression that seemed to want to tackle him to the ground and pummel him until he a bruised and sobbing mess came out of nowhere, and the raven didn't know how to deal with it.

He felt broken. Defeated.

Why he would feel like that when he just accomplished something that others could never even _dream_ of accomplishing was beyond him. The feeling, however, though uncalled for and confusing, was very real.

The teenager sighed, wishing he hadn't been such an idiot and slept more. He didn't understand why that book needed to be done in three days but he hoped that whatever kind of motivation he had would give him a break for a while. He didn't need to pull another all-nighter for some kind of sequel any time soon.

Getting up, the raven got a whiff of himself and he grimaced. He hadn't even been bothered to take a shower. He almost smelt as bad as when he came home that day...

Danny's eyes widened, remembering the day that he returned home from wherever he had been kidnapped. He had returned emaciated and smellier than a homeless drug/alcoholic, but all that he remembered before that was darkness, and a numbing cold that had haunted his nightmares even months after escaping. He didn't remember who had taken him, or what they had done to him, but the scars that littered his body remained his only clue.

Shaking the thoughts away, Danny grabbed some clothes from his drawer and a towel. He needed a shower bad, and the thought of standing under some hot water sounded like nothing short of chicken soup for the soul.

The spray of water wetting his hair and his face was comforting, and the feel of it dripping down the expanse of his scarred body felt warmer than the hugs his father used to give him before he went to jail.

Vomit rose in his throat.

Holy shit, his Dad murdered Vlad.

The memory of hands on his body and the itchiness in his throat from trying to scream, seconds before blood had covered the locker room like an attempted refurbishing gone wrong made bile rise and threaten to make itself seen. He hadn't known that his father was capable of murder until right then. Until Vlad was trying to take him in the worst way possible, after taking his mother away, after tormenting Jack and destroying the family that he knew...

Danny couldn't describe it as anything less than a mental break down, triggered by the eyes that had shown no mercy, and the voice that had promised a pain that had previously remained unknown to him. Things had gone dark the moment that he had felt Vlad..._ line himself up_.

The raven swallowed down the anxiety threatening to overcome him, swiping the wet hair out of his face with the palm of his hands.

Though he somehow knew deep down in his mind and soul that he hadn't been raped that day, the memories still crippled him even now.

Danny hadn't asked his father what happened that day, not that he had really had the opportunity to, what with his strange and unexplained need to have that book done. He had barely finished last night around 11:53 pm, but he needed to do a lot of spell check and put to good use before he would be willing to let anyone know about it.

The pain was like thick poison that started to blend and cover his body, manifesting from his chest in the form of cold biting ice and expanding outward until he could barely feel his limbs. He felt numb, weak, and in excruciating pain all at once. It felt like he was choking on emotion that he didn't know how to function with, and it was clenching at his throat like a couple of merciless hands.

Misery slipped off his body like water, wetting the path of his tears and dripping off him like little pieces of his soul that would be forgotten forever. It left nothing behind but a film that tainted the comfort that slowly bled away, stealing away all that was dear, as if it was never there in the first place.

Danny slowly sank to the floor of the porcelain tub, unable to hold himself up anymore. He didn't know why he was sad, or why he felt like his heart had been ripped out. His eyes were wide as he felt with full force the brunt of horrifyingly painful emotion that he didn't know what to do with, or how to deal with. He didn't know where it came from or why it was so damn powerful, but he felt sick to his stomach and it was for reasons other than the caffeine that had _destroyed_ his system for the last few days.

He had never felt so beaten before in his life. Not even the overwhelming emotion he felt after coming back from being dead to the world for almost 7 months compared to how broken he felt right then.

He covered his mouth to try and stifle the sobs that started to break through his lips, but it was a losing battle that he didn't even feel like he had the energy to fight.

The raven was in there for an hour, until the water had run cold and shivers that didn't come from his crying wrecked his form. The empty house that used to be filled with so much warmth and love now felt empty. Just a regular house filled with painful memories that hurt to remember. Ranging from the invasion of privacy to his mother cheating on his father in their bed. Though those memories were the ones to anger him beyond human capability, it was the good memories of his entire family living and laughing in the rooms of this house that hurt to think about.

Danny swallowed thickly as he sat back down at his computer, not knowing what to do with himself but knowing he had to release these unhealthy emotions somehow. He clicked open garage band and opened up his nearly completed song, _Someone Like You._

He clicked away at the music notes, typing in the lyrics as he did so, but the song was already almost completed he just needed... someone to sing it.

The exhausted and emotionally drained boy stared at the record button, unsure why it frightened him so much.

He clicked it.

The sound of a piano started to fill the room and Danny built up the bravery to do what needed to be done. Inspired by the torment his heart was going through, even though he had no idea the cause.

It felt... _liberating_. To sing one of the songs that he made was like the freedom that he didn't know that he needed.

_"I heard that you settled down, that you found a girl, and you're married now."_

More emotions built up like a terrorist attack in his brain, crippling his heart until he was almost positive that the organ was going to dissolve from the inside out. He hadn't meant to sing the song the way that he was doing now, he had hoped that it would be romantic in a sad way, but the way that it was coming out now... Oh well, there was plenty of passion and it sounded more sad than romantic but it was the product he was interested in.

_"Don't forget me, I beg. I remember you said 'sometimes it lasts in love, and sometimes it hurts instead.'"_

A tear fell from his eyes, but the raven ignored it, wondering how it was possible that he still had tears to shed.

_"Nevermind I'll find someone like you, I wish nothing but the best, for you two. Don't forget me, I beg! I remember you said, 'sometimes it lasts in love and sometimes it hurts instead,' Ohhhh!"_

It didn't release all the pain that he felt, but it felt good to finish that song and edit it to fit the tempo of the actual music. It was the most euphoric feeling, and he didn't know where he got the bravery from, but damn if he wasn't going to make a career out of this.

He smiled for the first time in days.

...

3 weeks later.

...

The bell rang, signaling that the last day of school was finally over. Danny didn't bother dressing out, he would just be going straight home anyway. Sam and Tucker had finally gotten their own cars after getting jobs at Taco Bell and both of them had to work in 30 minutes, so he was on his own today. Which was fine, he had to finish the next song before the deadline. The board of music wouldn't be happy if he was late.

They had liked his first song and agreed to sign a contract with him. He still was the sole owner of it and all the future songs that he makes, and they agreed to put it on Spotify, Youtube, iTunes or anywhere else that a person could buy or listen to music as long as Danny agreed to give them 10% of all revenue.

Seemed like a steal to him, so he signed it and he should be receiving his first paycheck any day now. He would be paid every two weeks, and since he signed the contract 12 days ago he was checking his bank account every morning. They had told him that even after taxes the amount deposited in his wallet would be "sexy" as they so boldly put it.

He had finished editing the book he wrote a couple of days ago, and he was hoping that his credibility with the board of music will somehow help him get it published. He didn't think that it would, but he would never know unless he tried. Or, that's what Tucker told him at least after he had proofread the story for him just to make sure that he hadn't missed any mistakes, Tucker told him that the book was good enough to be published- as long as he remembered to change the names of the characters.

Danny agreed to do that, figuring it was best to keep it private since the story was oddly... personal. It was weird that he had chosen to make the story so much like his own life just... slightly different.

Anyway, he had changed the names of the characters to Max for Danny, and Rick for his father and a bunch of other bullshit Disney knockoff aliases for the minor characters that he couldn't really remember off the top of his head.

He sighed, supposing it wouldn't hurt to take it to some kind of publishing agency and see what they say about it.

"Danny."

The raven froze where he stood about to unlock his car door, turning his head over Gregore who had decided to park his car in the same parking lot. His bleached white hair seemed familiar and his green eyes hit a foreign cord in his chest as if he was seeing some kind of ghost that he had no idea that he knew on a personal level.

Danny felt so lonely, but to an abnormal degree for someone who had never even been in a relationship. He couldn't imagine why it felt like he had just gotten dumped, but that's what he felt like.

Maybe he was just tired of being single and needed to give dating a try, and hopefully, find someone to fill the empty void that had rooted itself in his heart recently completely out of nowhere.

"What is it, Gregore." He asked, three seconds away from getting in the car and leaving. He may have been lonely, but that didn't mean he would be easy.

"Sorry if I scared you, but the truth is I parked here hoping to get a chance to ask you out to dinner outside of the classroom." His face was kind, and Danny was almost proud of Gregore for approaching him without his sunglasses on. Bravo, the dude was learning.

Danny hesitated to open his car door, "This is the third time you ask me out, are you going to just keep asking until I give in?" He did value a man who could be persistent, but he still wasn't positive if Gregore actually liked him as a person, or if he was just trying to get in his pants. He didn't need the latter right now.

Gregore gave him a small half-smile, it looked easy-going and made it harder for the raven to sneer at him for the borderline harassment, but the taller teen put his hands up in surrender.

"Allow me one date, and if you still have zero interest in me, then I will leave you alone for good." He promised, and the raven rolled his eyes, realizing that it was not likely that this guy would leave him alone until he agreed to go on a date with him.

He sighed, but Gregore was attractive, and he had just told himself he would give dating a try. He didn't see anyone else jumping at a chance to buy him food.

It was just one date. He was kinda hungry too, and it wasn't like he had to sleep with him if he didn't want to. If anything, he could at least get a free meal out of this.

"Fine, one date. I say where and when, and if I don't like you by the end of the night, it's over and I don't want you to talk to me again." Danny looked at the older guy in the eyes very seriously, but Gregore only seemed pleased.

"No problem, I promise I will leave you alone if you don't adore me by the end of the night. Cross my heart." He was full-on smiling now, seeming genuinely happy, and Danny hated how it was already warming the ice in his chest.

"Kim Wah BBQ on Casper dr. 7 o'clock tonight. Don't be late, I won't wait for you." He opened his car door and got in without another word, pulling out of the parking lot with a wave of farewell from Gregore.

The raven sighed again as he drove home. It was 4:30 but now that school was finally out, all he had to worry about was the deadlines for his music, he could do those until it was time to leave. Maybe search for publishers that will be willing to take a look at his novel before he needed to get ready.

He texted Sam and Tucker when he got home that he had a date tonight, and they seemed shocked that he agreed to Gregore.

_Danny: Yeah, I know, it's weird. I'm just in it for the free food. He said he'd leave me alone if I didn't like him even a little when the dates over though._

_Sam: He better hold up to that promise. He's not picking you up in that stupid G-wagon though is he?_

_Danny: No, letting him pick me up seems sketchy, I wanna be able to leave if I want to._

_Tucker: Smart. Just be careful, okay? We don't like or trust him._

_Danny: I'll be careful. I'll tell you how it went when I get back home._

_Sam: How are you doing there? You know, by yourself?_

The raven's mood dropped as he opened his mailbox and pulled out the mail. He missed his Dad, but the man wasn't going to get out of jail for another 23 years. He would be an old man by then, almost 70. He wouldn't be able to watch him grow old, and it was a depressing fact that he wished that he could change somehow, but his father didn't even want to see him when he visited.

He opened up a letter addressed to him and hoped that his Dad wasn't mad at him for what happened with Vlad. He really should have told his father sooner about how uncomfortable the man-made him, maybe things wouldn't have escalated to murder.

_**Hello, Daniel Fenton, due to the nature of the contract you signed with the board of music, out of the $54,765 you made, $4,381.2 has stayed with the board, and after .09% tax rate the rest has been mailed to your address. We look forward to sending your next monthly check and working with you and your future songs.**_

_**Sincerely, the Board of music.**_

Attached was a check for over $45,000, and Danny all but fainted. He swallowed down the shock in his throat and stared at the number written behind the dollar sign on the signed check in his hands. He couldn't believe he was holding that much money in his hands, and this was already after taxes so this was all his to do with what he wanted. This one check could send him to school for 4 to 5 years.

Holy shit, his songs were gonna make him pretty well off if he kept it up...

Excitement and thousands of thoughts for the future started to throw themselves to the front of his mind, and he was suddenly so happy that he had no idea what to do for a good couple minutes. Then he decided something that should have been decided long ago.

This house was not a home anymore. Too much had happened, too much privacy had been exposed and too much drama painted the walls like the ugliest mural in the world, reminding Danny every minute the things that happened in that house.

He clicked respond to the group chat and typed the short response that would be the beginning of quite a few very _long_ conversations, and the rest of his life.

_Danny: I think I'll sell the house and get my own apartment._

...

8 months later

...

Danny sighed, stressed out as he drove home from the storage garage. He had finally finished transferring all his father's equipment, a little earlier today than expected, and the house was finally on the market. He was told his novel was going to be published and he would be receiving his first check via direct deposit by the 8th of October.

By then, Danny had over 100 grand in his wallet and he had no plans in quitting making music. He already had two albums and a third one was on its way after he finished these next two songs. He had moved into an apartment 5 months ago after he turned 18 and had found the perfect place that was far enough away from his old house and school but close to where he was going for college.

Gregore had moved in a month ago, saying that his parents had kicked him out of the house and he had nowhere to go, and they had been dating for a while so Danny figured it would be okay. Things have been... nice? He didn't know if that was the word he wanted to use. It was nice to not be alone, and Gregore was really sweet, funny, and they went out a lot but... Danny couldn't say that his boyfriend made the crippling loneliness go away.

He sighed and parked the car in his private garage, Gregore was home so at least he didn't have to be alone until 11 pm; which was usually when the older boy came home from work. He walked into the house and called out that he was home before turning on the light.

He froze as he looked at the ground where hundreds of crimson rose petals littered the ground in the form of a trail going across the living room all the way to the bedroom. Nerves started escalating as Danny gathered the situation. The lights had been dimmed, the air smelt like flowers, the house was cleaner than normal, and he could hear soft music playing delicately in the background. The whole thing really would have been quite romantic if it weren't for the growing anxiety currently morphing its way through his consciousness in the face of this kind of exposure.

Danny put his keys in the little dish in the hallway and started following the trail of roses. He should get out now, it was time to go, it was time to leave this apartment and go straight to Sam and Tucker.

So why was he still walking forward?

He took a deep breath and pushed open the bedroom door, not daring to close it behind him.

They hadn't slept together yet. At all. Not even orally. Danny hadn't let Gregore touch him farther than just making out in the whole 8 months that they had been together, but the raven knew that Gregore was starting to get a little impatient.

Maybe he could do it... this time.

Gregore was fully clothed, much to Danny's utter relief, but there was a small table decorated in white and red roses with a tall bottle of champagne resting on top next to two glasses. The 19-year-old smirked at the younger teen from his place sitting upward on the bed with his feet planted on the floor and his legs spread apart to make room for the table between them.

Danny slipped off his shoes nervously, hardly moving away from the door as he wordlessly tried to gather his wits. He didn't know if he could do this.

"Hi, Danny. How was your day?" Gregore asked as he picked up one of the glasses and started pouring the champagne. How he got a hold of it in the first place was unknown to him as they were both underages. Danny didn't want to think of the implications.

"Stressful, as always." He wished his father would actually come out to see him when he is there during visiting hours, he wanted to tell him how he was doing, how successful he was. He wanted his dad to be proud of him. He had even started putting away a good amount of money into savings, along with putting all his old lab equipment together in storage so that when he got out of jail, he would have enough money and all his stuff so that it would be there for him to do with what he wanted.

Along with a full-time job of making and releasing both merchandise and albums, he had previously had to deal with starting college and being a full-time student while also taking care of his father's house and everything in it that was of value. It had been a hard 8 months, but Danny was relieved that at least a part of it had been concluded and all he had to do now was wait for a buyer for the house and keep up with the rent for his father's storage. The realtor told him that he would receive a call and an email from her when she got him a potential buyer, and he didn't have to worry about anything until then unless there was damage to the house -which his insurance would cover so there was no worry there.

They had already finished repairing the damage to the kitchen after the explosion, and the house was empty and as beautiful as it was when his parents bought it together, so hopefully, it would be off Danny's shoulders soon.

Gregore sighed for him, "I'm sorry about that, Baby. Why don't you come over here, and I'll give you a nice massage so you can relax."

Danny didn't say anything, just slowly walked forward after a few hesitations. Gregore _did_ give great massages... one wouldn't hurt.

The older teen was very gentle as he helped Danny out of his shirt and had him lay down on his stomach. Gregore had seen him shirtless before, and the first time that he did it was an accident and he had been very concerned to hear the unknown origin of all the scars that littered his torso. They may have been small, but they bothered Danny on a personal level so he had been using scar cream on them for a good amount of time now. They had started to fade and they looked much better than they did a year ago, making Danny a little less self-conscious about them.

Gregore's hands were warm and covered in marsh mellow scented lotion as he slid his hands across Danny's exposed back, pressing the tips of his fingers downward and rubbing small circles in the knots that he had.

"Poor baby, you're so tense." His voice was low and seductive, but the only thing that was making Danny relax right then, despite Gregore's many obvious efforts, was the fact that his boyfriend did not have a boner... _yet_. He knew from past experience of dodging the older guy's advances that he could get a boner just from _holding_ him for a while. Danny did feel bad about holding out on him for so long. Gregore was nice and he seemed to be understanding about his past with Vlad and everything. He had been feeling... _needy_ for a while now... Maybe he could... do it... this time.

Danny groaned in pleasure when Gregore started rubbing at the especially painful knot right in between his shoulder blades that had been driving him crazy for a couple of weeks now.

By the time Gregore had finished rubbing out all the tense knots in his back, Danny was so relaxed that he could almost fall asleep. Until his boyfriend flipped him over onto his back, that is.

He wasn't rough, by any means, it was just eye-opening and world stopping when he realized what position he had been put in. He was shirtless, on a bed, in a very intimate environment with his very horny boyfriend staring down at him like he was a sexy piece of raspberry chocolate cake that he just wanted to eat up.

The kiss was gentle when it was laid on him, but the taste of cherry and lemon didn't calm the nerves raging through him. Soft hands pet through his silky black hair, and Danny really, _really_ tried to relax. _Honestly_, he _did_. He put in a good honest effort to try and be _into_ this like Gregore seemed to be- if the boner pressing into his thigh was anything to go by.

He just wasn't. It felt... wrong.

_I love you, Precious._

Danny broke the kiss almost as soon as it started, he knew where this was going and he just couldn't let it escalate. "Greg, I-," he sighed dejectedly.

Gregore stopped, staring down at Danny for a moment before he rolled his eyes and groaned, getting off to sit up facing away from him with his hands on either side of his head.

The raven felt bad, he wished his sex drive was more present and active, but it hadn't been. He used to have one, in fact, he was positive that he used to have an extremely active sex drive.

Well, with his right hand at least.

It stopped a while ago though around the same time he started suffering from depression. His best guess was that he blamed himself for his father's incarceration and it affected his life more than he had anticipated it would.

Sam and Tucker often joked that he had rubbed out one too many and now he was dry and the most anti-horny teen in the world. They tried to make it funnier than it was, and he was mature enough to take it as a joke and laugh when they tried to make light of the situation, but there was nothing funny about an almost rape victim whose father murdered the assaulter and is now serving over 20 years in prison, meanwhile the victim has to deal with the backlash of the event.

Danny nervously glanced over at Gregore as he reached for his discarded shirt to put it back on. He cleared his throat after a moment of silence, "I'm sorry-."

"I've been patient, Danny," the older said before Danny could even finish, making the raven feel like a piece of shit. "We've been dating for over 8 months now, how long are you going to make me wait?"

Anger replaced sympathy, and Danny's eye's narrowed. He would make him wait as long as he fucking needed Gregore to wait. If Sam and Tuck were there they would beat the white-haired teen right then.

"As long as it takes for me to be ready for such a huge step," Danny defended himself, and a little voice in his head was shouting at him that he shouldn't need to defend himself right now. "I'm not ready, why would you try to pressure me?"

"I know you're a virgin, and you don't understand how amazing sex is, but I am not a virgin. I have had sex before and I am experienced enough to tell you that it feels fantastic. I can make you feel _fantastic_." Danny got off the bed and glared down at Gregore, "I can't wait any longer, Danny, I am going to explode if you don't let me touch you."

No. He would not allow himself to be guilt-tripped or persuaded into his first time. He is not comfortable, he is not ready, and Gregore is not worth it.

"Then get out," Danny said, he had too much self-respect to allow someone into his home just for them to try and push him into something he doesn't want.

The 19-year-old's eyebrows rose, "What?"

Danny was very angry at this point, "You heard me, if all I am is a piece of ass to you, then pack your things and go get booty from someone else, because you are never going to get it from me."

He was more angry at himself for wasting so much time on this pathetic jerk. For the past 8 months, Sam and Tucker consistently told him that Gregore was bad, Gregore was no good for him, Gregore was going to hurt him. He had ignored them in favor of trying to get rid of the depressing loneliness that his heart was forcibly being subjected to, but now he knew just how foolish he had been to think that the older teen was compassionate enough to make things better.

All Gregore wanted from Danny was his pants off, and the raven should have listened to Sam and Tucker sooner.

His now ex-boyfriend did not leave quietly; he yelled and antagonized Danny about being a worthless prude who would be lonely forever, but Danny was proud that he didn't cry until after Gregore stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Tears fell from Danny's blue eyes for hours after that, but he knew they weren't over Gregore. He wouldn't waste a tear on him, ever.

No.

He was just sad.

He was sad and feeling broken as if he had fallen into the pieces of a scrambled puzzle, and even after trying to put himself back together, he found that he was missing the very center-pieces. His _core_. He felt _empty_, and his experience with Gregore made him scared that nobody would ever be able to take that away.

...

_**Awwww Nooooooooooooooo! Porque?**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Fun Fact: I was originally going to have a cliche ending where Zeus would come down from the heavens and put Hades in his place, arguing that because Hades had made Phantom human, he had no place claiming him as one of his Sirens and he could not take his soul. Nor would he allow Hades to take Danny because Hades had broken certain rules and tampered with human life so he had no grounds to take Danny's soul either. However, in light of how cliche and anticlimactic I thought that was, and in the spirit in how much more poetic I thought the ending of Depths was, I changed it to what you saw in the ending of part 1 in the series.** _

_**Song that Danny sings in this : watch?v=ctz-k7NXq4s**_

_..._

_20 years later. _

...

Danny groaned, the sound of his alarm clock shattering the deep sleep he had been in would always be his least favorite part of the day.

Reaching a hand out of the heat from his covers, he pushed the dismiss button, giving his warm bed sheets one last farewell before he threw the comforter off his body. The cold of the air on his shirtless upper half was regrettable, but at least he remembered to put his bunny slippers at the foot of his bed so his feet wouldn't have to suffer from the ice-cold of his wooden floors.

Rubbing his face as he walked over to the bathroom to brush his teeth Danny went through his mental agenda.

1.) Wake up.

2.) Coffee.

3.) Wake up his 8-year-old daughter.

4.) Coffee

Danny started brushing his teeth, examining his face as he did so. Should he shave? He had slight stubble... " _Eh" _, not today, there isn't enough visible hair to be worth the ten minutes it would take to shave.

5.) Take Dani to school.

6.) Work.

7.) Pick daughter up from school.

... That was as far as Danny got, he guessed after that it was up to Dani.

After spitting out and rinsing his mouth with mouthwash, Danny combed his hair. Some things never changed. He had always liked his bangs to be long and everything else to be short, and Danny was glad that his hair had only gotten darker over time. Washing his face, Danny got the sleep out of his eyes until he felt confident he was awake and went to his closet to put on a red button-up and black corduroys along with his black dress shoes. When he was fully clothed, he checked himself in the mirror and went down the hall to his daughter's room.

Their butler was downstairs preparing them all breakfast, and Danny could smell his cooking wafting the house and filling it with the smell of cinnamon and honey, and the raven all but moaned at the sweet smell as he opened up Dani's room. He knocked on the door on the off chance that the little girl was already awake- which wasn't likely- and when there was no response, he turned the knob and went in.

There was a lump on the bed and Danny knew that she had been pressing snooze on her alarm, he shook his head in disappointment, but he guessed it was normal. He didn't know how many times he had to tell her that snoozing only made the process of getting out of bed even harder, but experience told him that was just how children were.

Brat lifted her head when Danny walked in but was too tired to get up. She usually stayed upstairs at night after too many times where she struggled to get up the steps on her old legs. Brat was a determined little puppy, but when she finally hurt herself trying to climb the stairs, Danny decided he would just make it a habit to carry her up himself and lay her in her little doggy bed in Dani's room, as that's where she liked to stay at night.

Danny sighed as he looked at the old wrinkly dog, he didn't know who had gotten her for him, but when he found her in his house the day his father went to jail with adoption papers saying she was put in his name, he just assumed his father had gotten her for him. It didn't change how much he had loved her for the last 20 years though, she had always been a good, lively, and protective dog. Even when she got too old to move or walk much.

The 37-year-old stepped over to his daughter's bed and shook her shoulder, chuckling in adoration when all he got was a dissatisfied groan, muffled under the covers. A second later Dani's face came out as she pulled the blanket down just enough to glare at her adoptive father.

"Daddy, haven't I told you that waking me up at 7:00 in the morning makes the Angry Monster come out?" Her blue eyes squinted at him even though there was barely any light in the room, just the dull morning light making the room slightly brighter than when it was completely dark.

Danny smirked, "Yes, but haven't I told you that the Angry Monster doesn't scare me?"

Dani's head fell back against her pillow with a huff of breath, but that's when the smell of French toast hit her nostrils and her stomach growled, and the elder chuckled with a pat of her head. "Come on, Dani, Sebastian's making your favorite."

With one more huff, Dani finally sat up, intrigued by the smell of food. She yawned as she went to her bathroom and Danny walked over to her closet to help her pick out something suitable for the weather. It was a little cold out, as was it in her school, so he laid out a light blue woven sweater to go with her red jeans and a white shirt.

Like him, Dani was a fan of primary colors and often wore them. In fact, that was all that was in her closet anymore, as she wasn't a fan of pink or purple and refused to wear it. Not that Danny minded, he didn't particularly think any other color really suited her anyway. He liked the fact that Dani was already capable of coordination and style, and knew exactly what she liked to wear. It dropped a lot of problems with picking out new clothes and getting rid of old ones.

When he was done, he left her room to give her privacy and went downstairs to greet their butler.

Their house was clean as always, thanks to the 30-year-old who had been with them for the past five years. Danny paid him well and gave him his own room downstairs, but Sebastian was more like a friend. A friend that did laundry, and made food, and often cleaned. Of course Danny could do all that himself, but living the life of a celebrity song artist, book author, and movie director, his daily agenda often got too cluttered to handle taking care of the house and an 8-year-old all by himself, and since he was single and his father was still in jail for the next 3 years, a butler was the next best thing.

Though Danny did prefer to do somethings by himself no matter what, like wake Dani up in the morning and take her to and from school, and spend any time that he can with her when he wasn't working. Sam and Tucker often came over with their 9-year-old son, Gus, or paid Sebastian to watch him along with Dani when none of them could take care of the kids for a few hours, but other than that and a few times they all found their schedules free, they didn't see each other all that often. Though there was a lot of skyping involved with their relationship now, and they were all happy that their kids seemed to be the best of friends and went to the same school together- were in the same class even.

"Morning, Sebastian," Danny said to the other raven dressed in his normal uniform; a white button-up tucked into black slacks, with a black tie and dress shoes. It wasn't anything special or too expensive, just comfortable and professional enough to be classy.

The 30-year-old man turned and smiled at him as he went to poor Danny his coffee, "Morning, Mr. Fenton. Will Ms. Dani be down soon? Her toast is ready."

"Yeah, just give her a few minutes, you know how she is in the morning. If only she was as slow in the evening when it's time to go to bed." Danny thanked him when the butler handed him his steaming cup of fresh coffee, the aroma making him hum. Sebastian made the best coffee in the universe.

"Yup, don't I know it," Sebastian laughed, "She could stay awake for hours talking to Mr. Gus on the phone. She does not get bored," he shook his head fondly as he made Danny his plate of food, some French toast with honey and powdered sugar with a small side of egg and bacon.

Danny opened up his planner at the table behind the other man as he smirked, "Nope, not even a little. I'm pretty sure they have fallen asleep together on the phone a few times." He shook his head as he read through the reminders of when his songs were due and what meetings he needed to appear in. Sipping at the coffee, Danny finally felt like he was starting to be semi-coherent this morning as the caramel creamer soothed his throat. "Those two are going to get into so much trouble together."

Sebastian chuckled again, "Yup, it's nice to know she has a friend though. Not really much of a social butterfly, is she?"

"Nah," Danny shook his head, "They mostly just talk to each other." That was how it was with him and Tucker before they met Sam, but when the duo became the trio, nobody could separate them.

Finally, Danny could hear when his daughter was coming down the steps, fully dressed with her long hair brushed up in a ponytail. She had her phone in her pocket and one headphone in her ear. "Morning, Daddy. Morning Sebastian."

They both greeted her in unison as Sebastian served her plate with a glass of orange juice, and they ate their food quickly so Danny could get the little girl to school on time.

He finished before her so he grabbed her backpack off the coat hanger and checked to make sure her homework was in it. "Your homework is in here right?" He asked when he realized there were too many papers for him to really know for sure.

"Yes, Daddy," Dani said as she finished her plate and let Sebastian take it from her so he could do the dishes.

"Okay, then come on, you're going to be late if we don't go right now," he grabbed his wallet and his keys and waited for Dani to put her bag on her shoulders and walk out the door, calling out to Sebastian that he would be back later.

Luckily, the drive to Dani's elementary school was a short one, and they were there within five minutes. Just enough time to drop her off and kiss her goodbye before watching as she met up with Gus and they went into the building.

Danny breathed out a heavy sigh, the familiar depression returning in his daughter's absence. He was always good about hiding it from her, but sometimes he just wanted to crown in some good ass coffee and spend every waking moment working until it was time to pick her up again. Like today, as Danny came home and saw that Sebastian was leaving to get the groceries and he went upstairs to turn on his computer.

He opened up garage band and clicked on the song he hadn't recorded yet, this one was due tomorrow and he really needed to finish it so he could burn it and turn it in on time.

_"Tale as old as time, true as it can be. Barely even friends, then somebody bends unexpectedly."_

The tempo to this song was strong and fierce, and the drums that played complemented the power in his voice.

_"Just a little change. Small to say the least. Both a little scared, neither one prepared, beauty and the beast."_

Danny smiled as he faced the camera recording him as he sang, this was going to be a great music video on youtube when he was done editing.

_"Ever just the same. Ever a surprise. Ever as before, and ever just as sure as the sun will rise."_

He was a proud father of a daughter who's playlist was completely filled with songs by him, she even bragged about him a lot when she found herself actually talking to someone who wasn't Gus.

_"Tale as old as time, tune as old as song. Bittersweet and strange, finding you can change, learning you were wrong. Certain as the sun rising in the East! Tale as old as time. Song as old as rhyme, beauty and the beast."_

As the song came to an end, Danny put more power behind his voice to make the climax as back shivering as he hoped it would be. He was so glad he had his coffee already, he wasn't sure if he would have been able to manage all these high notes if he hadn't.

_"Tale as old as time! Song as old as rhyme! Beauty and the beast."_

The euphoria from finishing a song came as he started editing the temp and his voice recording with vigor, making sure the song was completely finished and ready to burn and turn in before he got to the fun part. Working as a movie producer had taught him how to edit videos, making it easy for him to have loads of fun recording himself singing and editing it later into a super awesome music video to be posted after he turned in the song and they released it.

But that was about as happy as Danny got when he was by himself, the loneliness he had been plagued with for the entirety of the last 20 years crippling him. And every night, just like that one as Danny got ready for bed after a long day of working and taking Dani to the park to play with Gus, the 37-year-old cried himself to sleep, hugging the left side of his empty bed.

...


	3. Chapter 3

_**Fun Fact: I was originally going to make Phantom and Danny soul mates brought together by... I don't really know what I was thinking.. brought together by Biting? Fucking? Kissing? But I thought it was too cliche and would be just one detail too many in the story so I got rid of that idea.**_

...

Danielle and Gus were both in school, and it was the first time that Danny, Sam, and Tucker found the time to hang out together outside of work, so that's what they were doing at the mall as they attempted to practice self-control every time they saw something they liked that was too overpriced to be worth the money. They had only been there for half an hour and already each of them had spent at least $50.

Sam and Tucker are sluts for expensive dark chocolates and had already bought 3 boxes for themselves and their son Gus, and Danny had been unable to pass up the red and blue overall shorts that he knew would look so adorable on Danielle. They chit-chatted about work and gossip and how much they hated their coworkers and/or their bosses, laughing over the scandals that were all too obvious to be taken seriously.

"So, I'm walking to the bathroom, right," Tucker started as they walked into bath and body works, the smell of lotion and perfume hitting their noses pleasantly as they realized how much of a terrible idea it was to walk in that shop out of all the shops in the mall. "And I'm minding my own business, you know, finishing my banana, and I notice that the lady's room is propped open and all I hear is Barbara in accounting saying something like, 'Hey, guess what, I'm gonna get laid tonight.'" The way that Tucker said it as he tried to mimic a sex thirsty 50-year-old woman made the two others with him laugh.

"So I start listening in, right?" he continued with his story, "Cause' that's what normal men do when they hear women gossiping, you know, they listen for the T. And I hear Sandra gasp dramatically like 'Gasp! With who?' all enthusiastic and shit, and when Barbara tells her it's Jake, I heard Sandra gasp again and she was all like, 'Gasp! But I was with Jake last night!'"

Sam knew both Sandra and Barbara and could imagine the two middle-aged women having this sort of conversation in the bathroom, which was why she was red-faced laughing with tears in her eyes as she listened. Danny was unable to speak words or breathe for a few seconds as he laughed, but just when he thought the story was over, Tucker continued.

"Right when she said that, I was like 'Ohhhh' but I wasn't silent about it, I think they both heard me, so I rushed into the men's room and hid there for a good ten minutes before I mustered up the bravery to go outside again." A fresh round of cackles and breathless laughs hit them until Danny was sure he would pee his pants.

Danny smelled a new lotion he hadn't seen there before as he thought after a few moments of more endless chatter. Winter was coming and he wanted to make sure Danielle had a good jacket, the one she had was stained and had lost its soft fluffiness over the last couple of years.

He held up a bottle of perfume to his nose, the cucumber-melon aroma potent and sweet to his senses, but not enough to be better than the cologne he was already wearing. When he put the bottle down and out of his line of sight, he paused as he noticed that Tucker was standing there staring at him.

Danny's brow crinkled in confusion, wondering why Tucker was just watching him like that, "Something you wanna say, Tuck?" He knew the other man long enough to know when he had something on his mind, and Tucker practically had 'you're not getting out of this conversation' written across his forehead.

Tucker spoke up almost immediately as if he had just been waiting for Danny to trigger his speech, "Danny, have you tried talking to anyone?"

Words escaped the raven as he fumbled and stuttered a little before deciding to play dumb, "Huh? What do you mean, I talk to people all the time." He knew what his friend was talking about, even as he pretended he didn't.

"Don't try to bullshit me, Danny," He said just loud enough for the three of them to hear, "you always have this depressing and lost look in your eye. I see it. Sam sees it. Even Danielle sees it. Gus came to us this morning asking why you were sad after a very upsetting conversation with Danielle last night."

Danny flinched, he tried to do everything he could to hide the undeniable sadness that plagued him. He had put her to bed last night and she hadn't been on the phone with Gus, she had to have called him after he kissed her goodnight and left the room. To know that Danielle could sense his depression enough to talk to her friend about it in the middle of the night worried him to no end. He needed to try harder to mask it.

"I-I'm sorry, I just," he frowned, was this some sort of intervention? "Everyone I try to go any further than a lunch date with, I end up just- I just... I don't know. They feel wrong." Bitterness dried out his tongue, and the anxiety he always tried to smoosh down reared its ugly face. Any guy that he had been brave enough to take home for a hookup in the past after actually going on more than one date, had always ended badly. By badly he meant the hookup would skip the fun part and go straight to the awkward breakup where Danny would kick them out of his house after a simple make-out session and sometimes maybe some touching.

Attachment to another man was not easy for Danny. Not even things that should have been easy, were easy. Like holding hands, or cuddling on the couch, or talking about growing up. Simple things that should have been easy as the relationship progressed were forced with Danny. He tried. He did, he forced himself to schedule a second, or third, or fourth date if the guy was nice. He forced himself to try to get closer, to let himself try and be happy, but... it always ended with the other guy upset and not knowing what they did wrong. Now it had been almost 10 years since his last date.

Sam and Tucker had stood by for the last 20 years watching Danny burn in the loneliness that he tried to hide from them. To watch as their best friend shook when he thought nobody was paying any attention physically hurt them. To watch him reject any guy who showed any kind of interest in him beyond that of just friendship was like watching a butterfly fight to stay inside of its cocoon. It was difficult for them to watch Danny push away any possibility to fill the emptiness that he so obviously felt.

Tucker sighed, feeling bad for upsetting his friend by getting angry. He simmered down a little and put a hand on Danny's shoulder, "Look dude. I know it must be really hard for you after everything that happened with Gregore and... what happened in high school." Danny shuttered at the memory. He didn't like talking about Vlad. "But please, I am begging you, Danny. We need you to try and move on from it."

Sam nodded and put a hand on his other shoulder, and Danny looked back and forth between them before quietly nodding.

His friends seemed to sigh in relief, but that's when Tucker got to the point, "I met someone that is totally your type, I showed him your picture and told him a little about you, but he recognized you from your movie and songs. He seemed interested so I got you his number." he held up a little piece of paper to Danny's face, and the raven looked at it like it was a bee that was going to sting him.

"I looked him up to make sure he wasn't a psycho and he's totally legit, and successful too so he isn't just after money. You should give him a call," Tucker said as he pulled out his phone to show Danny his picture. "Here, look, he's sexy and gay too."

Danny's eyes widened, the man was really good looking. With platinum blond hair and sapphire blue eyes, a slightly stubbly chin and a smile that would slaughter any man, or woman's, heart.

Tucker pushed the paper into Danny's hand and the raven held it with a nervous expression, "I- I don't know, I've never been on a blind date before."

Sam rubbed his shoulder compassionately, but her stern voice betrayed how worried she was, "Please, Danny. Just ask him out. His name is Jess and we've met him a few times and he is really cool. Just try to get to know him. We can take care of Danielle while your out, just please try to have some fun."

Danny felt bad for worrying his friends, and even more bad that his depression was so terrible that even his child could see it in him, and in extension, Sam and Tucker's child. It wasn't good for anyone.

So with a sigh, he put the number in his pocket and promised that he would call Jess. But so far, the only thing he found to be worth it, was the relief in his friend's eyes.

...

Danny woke with a startled gasp, tears in his eyes and a longing in his heart that he couldn't place the cause of. He held his head and tried to calm his aching heartbeat. His lips were tingling and his arms were shaking but for the life of him, he couldn't recall what had woken him up. Something warm and familiar was ringing in his ears, cool and comforting but muffled and unrecognizable. He tried to focus on it, to put together the puzzle of what his brain was desperately trying to solve, but before he knew it, the ringing was gone. Along with it, everything that made sense.

That must have been some dream.

He sighed and looked at the clock on the side of the bed, frowning when he saw it was just short of 5:30 in the morning. There was no way he was going to be able to go back to sleep.

Moving out of his bed, he quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth before sitting at his work desk in his black robe. He might as well do some work before it was time to wake Danielle up for school. He had already finished writing and editing the music for a new song, all he needed was to record it and edit it one last time before it was ready to burn and turn in.

It was a Christmas song, which may have been lame to some people, but it was in the season and though it wasn't exactly the happiest of songs, it was still... He still wanted to publish it.

"I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need. I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree. I just want you for my own. More than you could ever know. Make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas is you."

This was definitely not a happy song, but it was festive and meaningful and he knew his fans would like it at least.

"Oh baby, I won't as for much this Christmas, I won't even wish for snow. I just wanna keep on waiting underneath the mistletoe. I won't make a list and send it to the North for Old Saint Nick. I won't even stay awake to hear those magic Raindeer click."

Unexplainable sadness was so familiar that he couldn't even question why tears started to fill his eyes. Or why his heart twisted painfully. Or why his hands started to shake as he all but fell apart, lost in the emotion that poured from him.

"I just want you here tonight, holding onto me so tight. What more can I do? All I want for Christmas is you."

He attempted to breathe to settle the poison that bubbled just under the surface, waiting for the day that he would finally break under the pressure it brought.

"None of the lights are shining brightly anywhere. And the sound of children's crying fills the air. And no one is signing. I don't hear sleigh bells ringing. Santa won't you bring me the one I really need, won't you please bring my baby to me?"

For some reason, anger started to mix with his sadness, creating a scary splatter painting of reds whites and bright orange that day by day became what his heart looked like.

"I don't want a lot for Christmas, this is all I'm asking for. I just wanna see my baby standing right outside my door."

Danny didn't notice, but large blue eyes peaked into his room as a small frown covered what was usually a pathologically happy face. Danielle watched her Daddy sing, worried eyes seeing all that there was to see as her father shattered to pieces by his desk.

Is this what he looked like when he thought no one was there to see?

"I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know. Make my wish come true! All I want for Christmas is you! All I want for Christmas is you, baby. All I want for Christmas is you, baby, you're all I want."

A tear fell from her big blue eye, but she wouldn't dare disturb her father or let him know she saw. She shrank away slowly, trying to forget about the anguish she saw on her Daddy's face, and trying to forget the unbelievable sadness that screamed from his voice. Her playlist was dominated by her father's music, and she was happy that at least something good came out of her Daddy's misery; he put a beautiful art in the world when he sang like that. Still, though, it was hard to know that her Dad was hurting so much. Especially when she didn't think that even he, himself, and any clue why .

She was quick to rush back to her bedroom and call Gus, he always answered and as tears fell from her eyes, she needed her friend.

...

He breathed.

In and out.

Deep and slow.

Danny was still the most beautiful creature on Earth. Even as he watched him through the distorted glassy orb as the raven finished editing a song early in the morning, just hearing his voice and the soft tapping of the computer mouse and keyboard was enough to keep him sane for the moment. He was allowed to do whatever he wanted in his downtime when he had finished his work and was waiting for orders. Well, whatever he wanted minus leaving the underworld, but something was better than nothing. He was grateful that he had been allowed to watch Danny all those years.

Danny hadn't changed much physically; he was still as slim as ever with his girlishly soft black hair and hairless figure. The scars that Phantom had given him in high school were small and faded, as if Danny had bathed in scar cream every day for the last 20 years and now they were almost gone, leaving behind beautiful white flesh that Phantom wished he could run his hands across and kiss sweetly.

A hand on his shoulder distracted him from the orb showing him what his love was up to, and green eyes turned to look up at the God of the underworld. Hades was smirking at him, and his hand was gentle as it grasped him in an almost fatherly way. There was nothing affectionate about it though.

"Your sentence will be paid tomorrow. You've been a good boy." The god said, malice morphing in his red eyes, waiting to hear what the white-haired male would say.

Phantom didn't skip a beat, unwilling to give Hades any reason to keep him there any longer, "My god only deserves an obedient slave."

Hades frowned but said nothing for a moment as he looked at the magic orb showing the boy the merman was so smitten with. He couldn't imagine what something as demonic and powerful as a siren would see in such an average human boy. No matter, a deal was a deal and Phantom had done well and had taken his punishment like a champ. Gods could not break a promise without consequence.

"I'm going to make you fully human, but I'm curious. If you could keep just one power, which one would you chose?" It was strange that the selfish god would wonder about it, but Phantom thought long and hard about what his answer was anyway.

When Hades set him free, he would be back in the human world. Powerless, average, without protection or identity, and no money. He would have to choose a power that would help him through all that, through the awkward freshness of his life in complete freedom and forgiveness. It couldn't be something that would get him killed, nor could it be something too trivial to make much difference. If he had to choose one power, it would have to be something that the human race didn't have much of an open mind about, something that couldn't possibly prove to really exist, something that he could play off as a crack joke if it came down and got dirty.

"Hypnosis." Phantom answered, "I would choose to keep my ability to hypnotize people." It would help get him money, food, and a place to stay in the first stages of being back in the human world, and it was small enough of a power to hide from everyone.

Hades nodded, but the slave wouldn't know until a day later when the god released the shackles on his wrists, that he had intended to let Phantom keep that power.

Phantom could only be grateful.

...

_**If you're interested in hearing the song that Danny sings in this chapter, just look up "Chase Holfelder All I want for Christmas". He's got a sexy voice and I love his music for this fic. **_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Fun fact: In Brat's prime youth, she was able to climb a ladder. (Yes, it is possible, I trained my dog to do that and he was able to climb up the ladder into my clubhouse so he could go down the slide into the pool with me when he and I were 8 years old.) I loved that dog. Rest in peace, Peso 3. Baby died at 20 years of age about 2 months ago, my grandma wanted him cremated but I knew my baby always liked to snuggle in a warm bed. So I dug a hole for him, and if you've ever been to Texas you know how dry it is and how hard it would be to dig, especially when you're pressured for time and had to do it in a day. I suffered just for him. I miss my best friend.**_

_**Brat's character is dedicated to my boy.**_

_**...**_

_**By the way, before I scare anyone away in this fic, Danny has only, and will only, ever have Phantom's dick inside him.**_

_**Trust me this is just as painful writing as it is for you to read.**_

...

37.

He was 37 years old, and still a virgin.

At this rate, by the time he _actually_ got the bravery to have sex, he would be old enough to have a heart attack before the fun even _began_.

Danny thought it was time for him to grow a pair. Which was how he ended up pressed against the inside of his front door, Jess holding his hands above his head as he kissed him roughly and with intention. His lips were big and soft and felt nice against Danny's as wet noises passed between them.

Their date had gone well. Jess took him to a nice sushi place and they had a few drinks... _quite_ a few drinks before walking back to Danny's house when both of them were too drunk to drive and they had to leave their cars in the parking garage.

The alcohol worked to relieve the stress that threatened to make Danny second guess himself as Jess started running his large hands up and down his slim sides. The dry warmth of them felt good against his flesh as the blond started slowly lifting his shirt off his body, his lips leaving a trail from across his jaw down the length of his throat. The raven's heart beat erratically in his chest and he told himself it was because of excitement, ignoring the anxiety that crept up when a knee slid between his legs.

_'Just breathe.' _Danny's eyes slit open.

He reminded himself over and over to breathe, and that everything was okay. Jess was a nice guy. He was sexy, he was _gentle_.

_'Relax_.' Nervous blue eyes shut almost as quick as they opened as Jess finally lifted his shirt over his head. Loud sucking noises could be heard as the larger man's lips made their way down his body, leaving a trail that felt cold against the air. The hands that had been groping around his upper body suddenly dropped to his butt and Danny let out a startled noise as he stiffened up. He could feel Jess smirk against his stomach as he got on his knees and that's when sweat started to drip down the side of Danny's blushing face.

'_Breathe_,' Danny took a deep breath in and slowly let it out as Jess started thumbing the button of his jeans, and the raven didn't know what to do other than let his hands fumble around him, looking for something to grab onto. There was nothing, and his hands ended up pressing the tips of his fingers into the door behind him until his knuckles were white and his nails hurt.

Jess licked his lips and pulled down Danny's zipper, but it was the little noise that the metal made that had Danny breaking momentarily. He needed this to stop, at least for a minute. He needed to slow this down.

With a gasp, Danny tipped his head backward, banging it a little too hard, "C-couch! Couch."

When Jess stopped in his task and stood up with a smirk that had the raven's knees wobbling, relief filled Danny. His nerves were on overdrive, but at least he had a moment to recover as Jess lifted him by the backs of his thighs till Danny's legs were around his hips and then carried him over to the living room.

"You're nervous," Jess said, his deep voice low and sultry, and Danny blushed at being discovered. "Have you done this before?"

Those eyes were full of lust, and Danny could see it even though the only light that illuminated their faces was the street lights that poured in from the open window. Next to the lust though, Danny could see the coolness of patience and care. It made Danny relax only a little and he shook his head in admittance.

Jess grinned at that, and Danny was glad the older man didn't laugh at him for being 37 and a virgin, "Don't worry, cutie, I'm gonna take _good_ care of you."

He was gentle when he laid Danny down on the softness that his couch pillows brought, and the raven stared up and watched as Jess lifted his shirt over his head, revealing ripped abs and muscular arms.

_'Breathe.'_

Hands squeezed his hairless knees before sliding up the thin material of his shorts, spreading his legs apart so Jess could slip between them. Lips kissed and sucked from his chest slowly downward as fingers hooked around the hem of his pants, and Danny tilted his head to the side and shut his eyes.

_'Breathe.'_

His legs trembled as his shorts were removed.

_'Relax. you can do this.'_

His hands grasped at the cushion beneath him, and his heart palpitated as he forced himself not to make a sound. Everything is fine. He could handle this. He wasn't scared. This is okay. Jess wasn't going to hurt him. Just once. He just needed to do this once and then everything would fall into place like a chiropractic adjustment. He just needed to relax.

_"I love you, Precious."_

Danny gasped and his eyes shot open, all but kicking Jess in the face as he sat up and pushed the man away from his groin, "I-I can't. I can't do this, I'm sorry."

Jess groaned, reaching a hand down to his clothed hardness to adjust it in its uncomfortably tight spot in his jeans. He breathed to try and settle his disappointment, not willing to let Danny see it when he was such a virgin. He wasn't the kind of guy to make someone like Danny feel guilty over this. He sighed instead as he sat back and allowed Danny to put his pants on.

"Look," he said after a moment of silence, of which he spent trying to figure out what to say that wouldn't make him sound like an insensitive asshole. "I know we've been going out for 2 weeks now, but if we're moving too fast, all you have to do is say something, Danny. I'm not going to judge or rush you if you aren't ready."

Danny zipped up his zipper, panting for breath as the fear and anxiety started slowly leaving him and he put his head in between his hands. Everything felt wrong, and nothing felt right.

Jess was an amazing person. He was strong and successful, he was kind and he treated Danny with all the respect that he expected, and for the past two weeks, he had done nothing but shower the raven in reasons why they were good for each other.

So why did he want nothing more than for Jess to get out of his house and never talk to him again?

Danny sighed, completely defeated as a familiar pain in his chest came out of hiding, apparently, it was done giving him a break for the day. He glanced over at the blond, who was looking at him with all the acceptance and forbearance that Danny wasn't even sure that he had for himself anymore.

It was better to break it off now while the relationship is still all too fresh, Danny hated the idea of breaking anyone's heart.

"I'm sorry, Jess. I just don't think that this is going to work out." The words were relieving to get out, he only hoped that the blond wouldn't be too mad and his friends could forgive him for giving up so quickly. He just couldn't bear it with himself if he let this go on just in the hope that the forsaken feeling he's had for the longest time will eventually be taken away, only to ruin Jess when he couldn't give him his whole heart.

Jess didn't speak for a moment, but when he did, his voice was soft, "Did I do something wrong?"

Danny quickly shook his head, "No! No, this is going to sound so lame and probably cliche, but I honestly mean it when I say it isn't you, it's me. I can't..." He breathed out slowly, suddenly unable to look Jess in the eye. "I'm a mess, okay? I'm a mess and I don't know what is wrong with me, but I just can't do this with you."

The raven was so ashamed of himself. He had his daughter to think about and no matter how much he wanted to give her the world, he couldn't even do one simple thing; try to be happier, find a way to be less depressed, find a reason to smile when she wasn't around. He felt pathetic, like he had failed an elementary math test and was staring down at his grade wondering what he was doing so wrong that he had no clue what the right answers were.

"I really like you though," Jess said, "and I know we've only been seeing each other for a short while, but," he grabbed Danny's hand and cupped his face to get his baby blue eyes to meet his, "When I'm with you, and forgive me for sounding like a girl from some Twilight movie, but things seem to fall into place and it feels _right_. I don't want that to go away."

Danny hated the sad look that the blond was torturing him with, but the raven had already made up his mind. He couldn't even really kiss Jess without feeling like he was betraying himself in some way, so how could he allow this to progress any deeper than it already was? The pain in the blond's eyes was real, and so was the wetness that appeared there when Jess could see in Danny's face that he didn't feel the same. All Danny could do was hope that the other male wouldn't try to fight this.

"I'm sorry," It was all the raven could say. "I really need you to go." He couldn't make this better, but he couldn't let the situation get any worse by giving Jess false hope either. He could see the moment that the blond really started to hurt and Danny couldn't take it anymore.

He got up, collected Jess's stuff and handed it to him as the older man made his way to the front door with the most reluctant look on his face. Danny avoided eye contact as he opened the door and waited for Jess to leave, but before the man made it all the way out the door, he turned to Danny and kissed him.

It was a kiss that would have had the raven shuddering at how intense it was if it weren't for the way his skin crawled. He allowed Jess to kiss him though, not even bothering to return it. He couldn't even pretend anymore.

When Danny was released, the blond rested his forehead against the smaller man's and stared deeply into his eyes.

"Please, don't do this," Jess's voice matched the beseeching look that he shot directly into the raven, as if he was hoping that the pleading would somehow change Danny's mind.

It wouldn't, though.

Wordlessly and with all the sorrow he could express, Danny lifted a gentle hand and firmly pressed it against Jess's nude chest until he took a step back, completely out the door. The blond dropped his stuff by his feet and grasped the raven's arm in a loose grip as Danny pulled away, trying to hold on and begging Danny with his eyes not to disappear behind the door.

The last thing he said to the older was, "Please. Don't call me again," before he pulled his hand back and shut the door.

He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the door to his house, slowly sliding down until he sat on the floor, alone now. The solitude was off-putting but at least the pressure was gone. He would never understand the strangeness of the comfort that came whenever he broke it off with someone. It completely contradicted how upset he was over his lack of companionship, like his brain couldn't make up its mind whether or not it wanted someone in his life.

Getting up, Danny grabbed his phone off the kitchen counter and a moment later his thumb was hovering over Tucker's mobile number. He stared down at the little phone icon, knowing that if he wanted to talk, his friend would answer. No matter how late it was.

Sighing again in self-disappointment, Danny locked his phone, grabbed Brat from the bottom of the stairs where she gave up trying to climb and went to put her in her little bed in his daughter's room. Danielle was sleeping over with Gus and Sebastian had taken the day off and was probably with his girlfriend, so the house was empty. For once though, that was okay with him as he made his way to his bedroom and stripped the rest of his clothing off.

He quickly showered and brushed his teeth, not bothering to put on any clothes other than his boxers before falling into the right side of his bed with a dramatic heave of breath, unsure if he would be getting any sleep. He stared at the left side of his bed with a blank but sad expression before grabbing the left side's pillow and clutched it to his chest in an attempt to bandage the pain in his chest.

Falling into a restless sleep, Danny cried. Softly. Quietly. _Alone_.

...

_**Povresito... **_

_**Hey... guess what happens next chapter ;)**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Fun fact: The author was eating an apple while writing this chapter. A tiny bit of NSFW**_

...

"Daddy!"

The distant voice of a small girl went from far away to right in Danny's ear as Danielle jumped on his bed, bouncing around and waking the half-naked man up from a deep but familiarly restless sleep. Tired blue eyes opened and he groaned at how the bed shook with his daughter's actions, his face was hidden in the pillow so she didn't see the dried tears.

Well... at least she pretended not to see them.

"Daddy! Come on, it's snowing! Let's go to the park." Danielle was already dressed in her red corduroys and her blue jean jacket, her brand new white fur coat looked gorgeous on her. The fact that she was already showered and dressed let Danny in on the fact that he probably overslept, and it was confirmed when he turned his head and saw that it was already about to be 11 am. Luckily he had turned in his song the night before just before it was due, so this was his day off; Saturday. Perfect day to oversleep.

His head fell back into his pillow and he huffed, cracking an eye open at Danielle, wanting nothing more than to sleep a little while longer, but it seemed that the 8-year-old was in charge of what he did for the day. Saturday was her day, where they did together whatever she wanted, as a way to try and make up for how often he wasn't home with her. They usually went to the park when it snowed because Danielle liked to build goofy looking snowmen with Gus, and the slide was always especially slippery and more fun to slide down.

"Oka-Okay, sweetie, stop jumping, please," he sighed in relief when she did and turned his head just enough to smile at her. "Give me 20 minutes and I'll be downstairs. Ask Sebastian to make me some coffee, please."

She nodded, excitedly jumping off of her Dad's bed and running out of the room down the stairs.

Danny groaned again into his pillow, bidding it farewell for the time being before lifting himself out of the warm seclusion of his bed. His morning routine went by mechanically, but thankfully quite quick. Now that he had broken up with Jess last week he didn't care what his hair looked like, so he cared to fix it about as much as he cared that his T-shirt had a paint splatter on it.

Heading downstairs, he was eternally grateful when he saw the steaming mug on the kitchen table, and as he snatched it up and started drinking from it like it was the god damn holy grail. It was bad enough he barely got rest even when he was asleep, he couldn't go through life only able to function with only half his mental and physical capacity as well.

He wore a white scarf and a blue coat over a red sweater with his red mittens and as he turned to Danielle he noticed that her outfit was like his but inverse, with a red scarf, white coat and blue mittens with her blue sweater and red pants. Her white snow boots completed her outfit and had Danny cooing at how adorable she was as he walked over to the front door and slipped on his black steel toe boots over his light blue skinny jeans. They had a scuff on them that bothered the crap out of him, but the park was right by a nice shopping center so he figured he and Danielle could just have a shopping day after she got tired of the park.

Making sure his phone and his wallet was safely in his pockets, he opened the door for his daughter and they both walked out as he bid Sebastian farewell for the next couple hours.

It was colder outside than it normally was, but luckily the cold front was only supposed to last about a week. It made Danielle's face light up as her cheeks became rosy from the chill though so Danny couldn't say he hated it when it snowed.

There was a concession stand by the park entrance, and when they got closer Danny smirked to himself, already knowing he would be opening his wallet in the foreseeable future. Danielle was a sucker for hot chocolate and fresh cookies, and as soon as the smell of it hit her little pink nose, her eyes widened and zeroed in on the stand.

"Daddy! Please, can I have a cup?" The big smile on her face would forever be Danny's weakness, so he took her over to stand in line as she read through the options.

She hummed as she read, "Pumpkin spice, white chocolate, caramel, hazelnut, cinnamon, vanilla..." Her eyes were intrigued by all the options, and honestly, Danny didn't know if he would be able to choose one either. They all sounded delicious, the pumpkin spice one was especially turning him on.

Eventually, she decided to get the hazelnut flavor with a caramel drizzle and asked Danny to hold it for her while she played and waited for it to cool off enough to drink.

Danny sat down at a picnic table and set his coffee mug down as he pulled out his phone and checked his work status. Over 900 people have subscribed to his Youtube channel in the last couple days and 300 have pledged on his page, he also just got an email of what they were hoping that Danny would do with his next song. They tend to like his minor key songs when he made them sound almost morbid in tone and poetically foreboding. It annoyed him when they pretty much give him assignments, but at least they still gave him full creative freedom.

Danny was good at his job, and none of his agents or producers would dare try to write his songs for him.

He rolled his eyes and read through the message, figuring he would at least read it and feel their idea out and see how he could implement it. They wanted him to write something that unhealthy couples could relate to, something that could inspire those to move on or confront the issue, and as Danny read through how they thought that music was therapy for 90% of the population, Danny was already brainstorming. It wasn't a bad idea; what they came up with, and what they say about music being a form of counseling for people who relate too much to what they listen to also made sense.

Glancing up to check on his daughter, Danny sipped his coffee. She was building a snowman by herself, and Danny supposed that Gus was unable to meet her like she was hoping. Oh well, maybe some other time, hopefully. There were about 5 other kids around, all of them at least a couple of years in range with her age, but she turned bashfully any time one of them asked her to play, staying to her snowman. Danny sighed, wishing for a day that she would be brave enough to make a new friend. He was positive that she wouldn't even have Gus if they weren't practically related, what with how close their parents were.

Danny felt at Danielle's mug of hazelnut hot chocolate, feeling that it was finally cool enough to not burn her tongue. He called her over and as soon as she heard her name, she ran right over with cheeks flushed red from the cold and picked up the warm cup, testing it before taking a long sip with a hum. Danny decided to text in the group chat with Sam and Tucker to see what they were doing.

"Tastes good," She said with a smile before drinking some more.

"I'm glad," he pet her head just as his phone dinged, and he looked down to read a text from Tucker.

Cold and slightly chapped lips frowned down at his phone when he found that Sam was ill today, and things made sense now. Gus couldn't play because Tucker wouldn't leave Sam alone when she was vomiting so much. Some kind of stomach bug. He sighed, texting Tucker to let him know if they needed anything, hoping 1 of the only 3 women he ever loved would bee okay soon.

"Are you ready to go? I need to get some new shoes." Danielle looked really cold now, and he figured it was time to get her indoors anyway.

She nodded, giving him no trouble in leaving the park. Such a good girl. Back when Danielle was still a toddler, Danny would watch her at the park and be there to see all the other mothers and fathers trying to get their kids to agree to leave the park. Sometimes they would have to resort to lifting them or dragging them kicking and screaming to the car, and Danny had always shuddered, hoping he wouldn't have the same problem with the small girl playing in the sandbox.

"What kind of shoes are you getting, Daddy? You have so many nice ones already." Steaming liquid in both their hands, they made their way to the exit of the park, Danny staying between the 8-year-old and the active street just a few feet away.

Danny chuckled, she made him sound so spoiled. With a pet on the top of her head, he laughed and said, "Yeah, but those are all dress and casual shoes, hun. Daddy can't wear either of those in the ice and snow, I need a good new pair of boots."

Danielle is too distracted by drinking her hot chocolate to respond, but when she glanced up from the deliciousness and warmth it brought, she noticed the incoming accident about to happen. Her daddy was drinking his coffee, actually finishing it off and tipping it back, blocking his view of where he was going. The other man didn't seem to be paying attention either as he focused on what looked like a map in his hands, and just by the pace the both of them were going, Danielle knew the impact may hurt.

She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could swallow the chocolate in her mouth and find her voice, the two were already crashing right into each other.

Danny had just finished off his coffee when they collided, and he tightened his lips to keep from accidentally spitting it out. There was a small pain in his forehead where he no doubt hit against the stranger and he groaned.

Hearing the other man huff a pained _oof_, Danny thankfully managed to keep from spitting coffee all over the person in front of him, but unfortunately, he didn't keep himself from looking like a complete idiot when he laid eyes on the green ones standing a few inches above his own. His blue eyes widened and Danny all but stared as he gulped his coffee down embarrassingly loud. At first, he thought he was seeing an older version of Gregore, but a mili-second later Danny realized this man was way too beautiful to be his ex-boyfriend.

Danny stuttered and all he managed to get out was a pathetic, "Shi- I- sorry- coffee," and the raven wanted nothing more than to kick himself. _Real smooth, Fenton. No wonder you're single_.

The man had a smile that could have knocked Danny right to his knees if he wasn't so enraptured by the sight, "It's okay, Gorgeous. No harm done."

_Bud-ump._

The raven was fully incapable of words at that moment as the other man's white hair blew in the wind as he walked away. For a moment Danny was too stunned to move, there was a ringing in his ear but all he got when he turned around to watch the new guy walk away was the sight of the back of his head. Snow white strands were peaking out from his gray beanie and Danny found all he wanted to do at that moment was run his fingers through them and find out if they were as soft as they looked.

Danielle shook his hand with a wide smile, "Daddy, he just called you gorgeous! Does that mean he loves you?"

Danny blinked for the first time since before crashing into the stranger, looking down at his daughter. "No, sweetie. That just means Daddy wore the right clothes today."

...

The bed seemed more empty than ever, and as Danny found himself in it at the end of the day after the longest hot shower he had taken in a good long while. Sighing bitterly, Danny wondered when he would be able to stop sighing bitterly before going to bed.

Shoving his face into the pillow, Danny thought about the stranger he bumped into today. The image of those eyes... those bright and beautiful green eyes were burned in the back of his eyes and every time he shut them he could see that smile. Could hear that voice, that deep gravely voice that purred at him, penetrating the wall separating Danny from his libido.

Danny huffed a deep breath, vividly remembering how those eyes seemed to zero in on him and bring him to life in the span of half a second. How he had stuttered and froze from just the way the stranger smiled at him, those lips looking softer than the fluffiest cake and that sharp jawline tempting his tongue to run across it.

Shutting his eyes and ignoring the shame over lusting for someone he knew all of 9 seconds, Danny sighed and turned onto his side. The stiffness in his boxers was something that only happens once in a blue moon, but tonight he didn't think he would be able to ignore it. Not with the memory of the most beautiful man he had ever seen in his life still so fresh in his mind.

He took deep, slow breaths, focusing on the sound of chocolate in his ears.

_"It's okay, gorgeous."_

Dannymade a small sound in the back of his throat, running a hand down his neck to thumb at his collar bone. Keeping the image of intense green eyes on his mind, the raven slowly dragged his hand downward, ignoring his nipples completely and continuing to travel down to the seam of his boxers.

_"No harm done."_

Snapping the material against his flesh, tingles ran up his sides as his boxers became tighter and he quickly slipped them down a bit. Grabbing himself in his hand, Danny released a heavy breath. He was extremely hard, and hot in his hand and as he slowly rubbed it up and down, his thigh starting to twitch as his toes curled.

His eyes shut tight as his pupils rolled back when he started going a little faster, firmer, the image of soft lips smirking at him bringing hot licks of pleasure up from his groin to the back of his neck. His legs started squirming after a few short minutes, and Danny knew he wasn't going to last long. That was okay though, he wasn't trying to spend 30 minutes bringing himself to completion, he wanted to just get it done and go to sleep.

A small whimper escaped from his lips and he quickly covered his mouth with his free hand to keep from making any more noises. Though he knew the door was shut and nobody would be able to hear him, he was too embarrassed with himself to allow it to happen anyway.

When he felt that he was close, he grabbed a tissue from the nightstand, rubbing a little harder and focusing more on the tip, spreading the precum that leaked there around. His thighs quaked under the firm motions of his hands, and he knew any second he would be done.

The second that heat pooled in his lower gut and his legs clamped up as he became stiff with sudden mind stopping pleasure, Danny held the tissue in position with his last coherent brain cell before everything exploded behind his eyes. Heat cascaded up and down his form, and for a good 4 or 5 seconds, Danny didn't dare stop the motions of his hand as he focused on the intense orgasm.

But then reality came back, and though he felt lighter and heavier all at once, the emptiness was still so prominent. Throwing away the soiled tissue in the bin, he adjusted his shorts and clutched his pillow to his chest, burying his face in the softness and slight comfort it brought.

At least now he could sleep.

...

Green eyes stared down at Amity Park from the window of his small apartment, he was about 5 stories up and from here he could see Danny's school, his old house that had been sold and purchased by another family of 4 a while ago. He couldn't see the raven's new house from his apartment, but that was okay. He had been watching Danny the entire 20 years that he had been gone, he knew his schedule, the places he went, where his friends were, where the office was, even his favorite diner. By now, Phantom had a good guess of what Danny would be doing each day and where he would be. The poor boy practically lived in a rut, and predictably did many things the same each day, each week.

Clutching his black robe a little tighter and tying the white string to keep it closed and his body heat contained. It felt really strange to seek heat instead of cold, and turning the heater up instead of the AC was an all-new experience that he hadn't gotten used to yet, but one thing he liked with the hot tea that steamed from the mug in his hands.

Danny always loved lavender tea, and now that hot things wouldn't make him sick, Phantom was ready to see what the hype was about.

It had been about 2 weeks since Hades released him, and in that time Phantom had been focusing more on getting his life together. Of course, he may have had to get his hands a little dirty to get things like an ID and some money, but he couldn't say that he had done anything... _too_ illegal. He wasn't going to be applying to work in a police station or courtroom any time soon, that was for certain.

He was able to get an apartment, a job at the only night club in Amity Park -which as degrading as it sounded, it wasn't actually degrading and he actually enjoyed working there- he was able to get a warm bed, some clothes, food, water, everything he needed to live comfortably. He was even able to afford some textbooks and cable and open up a savings account which he had already put away a few hundred dollars.

Phantom wasn't exactly living the 'Posh life', and he definitely missed his car and would be getting one as soon as possible, but at least he was standing on his own two feet already just a couple weeks after being released from the Underworld. He was so well off that he didn't even need to use hypnosis anymore, he already had a job and people thought he was so attractive that they gave him money without him even needing to speak.

He decided it would be best to go by his old name, Dan Phantom, even though he thought it was stupid. It still felt like him, that was his name, the same name that Danny gave him the day he decided he would save his life for no reason at all.

Breathing in and out, Phantom took a sip of his tea. It tasted nice. Calming even.

He had seen Danny in person for the first time in 20 years today, all he wanted to do was put the useless map down and kiss him until Danny thoroughly remembered his name, but things didn't work like that. Danny didn't remember him, Phantom was nothing but a stranger from out of town to him. He needed to go about this slowly, and carefully. He needed to use his knowledge of Danny's everyday life with caution. If he randomly popped out of nowhere too much, then the raven might think he was being stalked.

...Well in a way, he kinda was, but Danny didn't need to know that.

Still though, seeing those perfect baby blue eyes in person for the first time in 20 years was the most overwhelming thing he had ever gone through. It was the reward he always knew that he was working for, the misery he went through was all worth it just to see those eyes again. Alive, healthy, safe and sound. Living his life, doing good for the world, filling it with a beauty that only he could bring.

He almost couldn't hold back from grabbing the raven in his arms and holding him there forever, all he could think about was burying his face in Danny's neck to find out if he still smelled the same. If he still wore the same cologne or washed with the same shampoo. He wanted to know if his black hair was still as soft as he remembered, if his lips still tasted like herbal tea and if his flesh was still as soft and smooth as it was before he had to leave him for 20 long years. Only time and patience would bring him these answers.

Finishing off his tea, Phantom set it in the sink and made his way to his bedroom. It was time to get his life back.

...


	6. Chapter 6

**_Are you ready to find out what Phantom was forced to do during his time in the Underworld? It might make you sad. Like its nothing too terrible, like the guy wasn't raped or anything, was never hurt or tortured... badly. But this chapter still might be upsetting to some._**

**_Fun Fact: The nightclub that Phantom currently works at is, in fact, a strip club, but Phantom doesn't have sex in any way with anyone. He just dresses up all sexy and performs. Sometimes singing, sometimes pole dancing, but he loves it and it pays well because he is extremely attractive._**

...

_10 years ago (halfway through Phantom's sentence)_

...

The sound of a heart monitor wasn't loud enough to give Phantom something to focus on other than the sobs of a mother and father as they sat next to the patients sleeping form. Even with multiple pieces of hospital equipment hooked up the young 27-year-old woman, Phantom could see that her life span would be over in just a couple of short minutes. She had cystic fibrosis, and her lungs were finally giving out on her after months of hospitalization. The poor redhead was just a normal girl, a good girl probably, with an obvious amount of love and support in her life.

It's a shame that she was guilty of selling drugs back when she was a rebellious teenager.

Phantom was disgusted with himself, and his orders from Hades; Take the girl's soul. The merman didn't think that a rebellious phase that only happened because she was angry with the world for cursing her with such a horrible disease, was her fault. But his job wasn't to decide on whether she deserved to go to hell or not, it was to take her soul to the Underworld because Hades ordered him to.

Sure, the gods were getting angry with him, but he wasn't technically breaking any of the rules, and nobody but Hades handled human souls so it wasn't as if he was stealing anything from anyone. It was also lucky that the gods knew he was only acting because this was his punishment, and Phantom did not want to do this, or the merman was sure that they would be turning him into a... _toad_, or something. He wasn't getting any sort of pleasure from taking innocent souls like this poor sick dying young girl, down to the Underworld to rot in hell for the rest of their immortal life. This red-head was a soul that did not deserve to be reaped by him for Hades.

Phantom used to think that humans were stupid and mindless without senseless emotion, living pointless lives and never amounting to anything but full-filling their fetishes and infecting the world with garbage and burnt fuel. Now though he knew human life was more than that, it was more than just a race only capable of destruction, it was more than just a boat throwing the trash into the ocean, or fisherman cutting fins off sharks. Humanity was more than just the definition of his next meal and it was so much more beautiful than a brief moment of entertainment.

This sick and dying young woman did not deserve to suffer just because she sold a few drugs.

When the heart monitor flat-lined, the sound of it had the girl's mother gasping right before she started screaming as the father ran to get the nurses attention. In less than a few seconds, there were doctors all around the 27-year-old, all doing everything they could to get the girl to breathe. The doctors were all shouting at each other, desperate to get the girl to take a breath, to get her lungs to fight just a little longer and push through the thick layers of mucus to yank air into themselves and save the girl from suffocating right there in the hospital bed.

The mother was hysterically calling her name, holding her daughter's limp hand in a tight grip as her husband tried to pull her into his chest and out of the doctor's way, but Phantom already knew that the girl would not grip back. She would not turn her face and open her green eyes to look at her. She wouldn't ever be able to look her mom in the eye again because whether Hades wanted her soul or not, today was her death day.

It made this a little easier; taking her soul. Because at least he could say he wasn't robbing her of her life by taking her to the Underworld. Phantom wasn't robbing her of finishing school or finding a job. He wasn't robbing her of any chance she had in finding someone who would love and care for her despite the struggle her lungs put her through every day. He wasn't robbing her of the chance to have children of her own, or of being able to watch them grow, or of the chance to die of old age 70 years from now. She was going to die today no matter what, Phantom was just the piece of shit that would reap and condemn her to spend the rest of her afterlife in the hands of Hades.

"Emma!" Her mother's voice right then was a horrible noise, it sounded so broken, so full of pain, it was the epitome of what a heartbreak sounded like. Phantom could hear the moment that the mother's entire world shattered to pieces, and it left a sour taste in his mouth. This was someone's _daughter_ that he was about to steal away.

This was Phantom's life now, though, for the last 10 years and the next 10. His job was to take souls down to the Underworld for Hades to rule in his little pool of eternal suffering. People who are murdered, or die sudden deaths- people who die in a rage or commit suicides, people who were self-harmers or were alcoholics, drug addicts, dealers, were whores or had committed unforgivable crimes, like rape, pedophilia, etc. Hades wanted Phantom to take their souls down to hell whether he thought they deserved it or not.

Just like this girl, Emma, who was extremely beautiful even looking as sickly as she did in that hospital bed as her parents cried their eyes out, mourning her loss. Phantom could imagine what she would look like to be healthy. Radiant, gorgeous, eyes full of life and love and inspiration with long wavy and healthy red hair that flowed in wind and made other girls jealous. Not like the empty carcass that she was now, eyes shut tight and sunken in with dark grey shadows marring her pale skin.

The mother looked like she was ready to fall to the ground, her husband the only thing keeping her up as she all but crumbled at the loss of her daughter.

Phantom felt like the biggest ass in the world, but he had a job to do.

When Emma's spirit appeared before him and the doctors announced her time of death at 1:32 am on a winter Sunday, he regarded her with the most compassionate expression he could. The spirit looked at him, sizing Phantom up in the same spandex onesie suite Freakshow had dressed him in with the same dark gray hood before looking back over to her body and her crying parents.

It took her a moment to realize what was going on, that she was now dead, and nobody in the room could see the two of them.

She slowly looked up at Phantom, and the employee of Hades knew he was right in his vision of what she'd look like in full health. Her spirit did her much justice, her true beauty shaping her with what she was meant to look like, what she was always supposed to look like.

"Are you an angel?" her spirit asked without moving her shut lips.

He was the farthest thing from an angel, and though he wished that there was such thing as Heaven and an angel of God could come down and fight to take this innocent spirit with him instead of letting Phantom take her, that wasn't going to be happening.

Phantom shook his head, hating to be the bearer of bad news. It left a sour taste in his mouth when he had to take a Christian soul, make them realize that their whole life they had been following a God that did not exist, and then take them down to a place where their _whole_ life, they imagined being a place for the damned, a place meant for misery and pain.

Emma tilted her head in confusion, "If you aren't an angel, who are you?"

Phantom reached out and grabbed her hand in his, and as if she could feel the evil in his touch, her eyes widened and she started panicking. This was a usual reaction whenever he touched a soul as if they knew without him needing to tell them that he was there to take them to a dark and horrible place.

Emma started shaking her head, trying to get rid of his now tight grip on her hand as she tried to get away from him.

"No!" Her lips would never open to speak words again, but that didn't mean Phantom didn't hear her words. "No. I was a good Christian, I don't deserve to go to Hell."

She tried again to get rid of his grip on her, and Phantom deeply wished he could let her go, let her disappear in the peaceful nothing that souls withered away in only moments after death. He couldn't let that happen though, he had a job to do.

Phantom pulled her closer, even as she braced herself against the ground, fighting and screaming for her God to save her from this monster, to give her the strength to pull away and get herself out of Satan's hold. She begged for an angel to come down and take her to Heaven, her screams penetrating deep into Phantom's soul as he cringed at the fear on the girl's face. He hated himself all over again, wishing he could just release her. She did not dedicate her short life to fighting her sickness, overcoming the anger it brought, and finding the strength to live each day to the fullest, just to be dragged down to the Underworld to suffer for all eternity.

She had lived with the expectation that she would die young, and had somehow found a way to overcome that fear and that hatred for herself and her situation. Emma had found it within herself to not be afraid of death because she thought that, in the end, it would all be okay. That she would find some form of happiness after death because she was a firm believer in God and Heaven so she would have an afterlife full of peace and joy. To go through life feeling so passionately about this, just to find out that her life after death would be nothing like the blissful sleep she had been hoping for, had her beautiful soul cracking into broken glass pieces.

Phantom wanted nothing more than to let her go, to let her disappear so she wouldn't have to be taken to the worst place in the whole universe, but he knew that if he let her do that, then Hades would punish him.

He had a job to do, and Phantom always had been a selfish being.

Danny would be disappointed in him.

...

Hades was all too happy when Phantom released Emma's soul into his pool of eternal suffering, the ex-merman had gotten the god at least 60% more souls to rule in the last 10 years than the whole siren race was able to get in the same amount of time. Either because he was being forced to work overtime or because he was forced to take multiple souls a day rather than 1 a month as normal sirens take, he didn't know and didn't care.

All Phantom cared about was doing his duty, completing each horrible task, and then ignoring the bitterness he felt at the end of the day. He couldn't believe he used to live without these emotions, couldn't believe he used to look at humans like the only purpose they served on the planet was to provide him nourishment. He felt ashamed of himself in many different ways. Shamed of how much of an idiot he was as a siren before he met Danny, and shamed now for what he was doing every single day.

Some of the souls he took were easy to take, like rapists, pedophiles, murderers, sociopathic serial killers, human traffickers, etc. Those people, he could handle reaping, because they deserved to suffer for making undeserving people suffer. It was the people like Emma, who lived life pure, innocent, doing nothing but trying to find her place in the universe and just trying to live life happily and to the fullest, that screwed with Phantom. Those people just wanted to find peace, but because of a mistake they made when they were young and stupid, like dealing drugs during a hateful faze in her life as she came to terms with her condition, he was forced to treat them like the worst vermin in the world.

Wiping his face as he tried to get rid of the stress between his eyebrows, Phantom walked up to the only spot that brought him any sanity.

"Show me, Danny," he said softly, just like the hundreds of other times he ended the day like this.

The crystal orb morphed, and in a few short seconds, Phantom was looking at the love of his life. The raven was looking as beautiful as ever if not severely exhausted as he sat at his computer looking up adoption agencies.

Phantom smirked, Danny was looking to adopt a child? Looking to be a father?

Warmth fluttered in Phantom's chest, and he was once again reminded that all of this was worth it, as long as he could one day return to be in Danny's life. As long as the raven was still breathing, still living, still going through life strong and accomplishing everything he was meant to, it was all worth it.

Phantom's life was stunned, meaning while he was held prisoner by the gold shackles around his ankles and wrists, he didn't eat, didn't sleep, didn't require breath, and he would not die if he lived without water. The only thing about him that changed was his age and appearance. So he could watch Danny, all night, non-stop, and during any of the free time that he manages to get after reaping the list of souls Hades demands from him in a day.

It was the comfort that watching the boy slowly turn into a man brought that got Phantom going each day, strong. Though he felt like the biggest prick on the planet and he didn't know if he would ever forgive himself for destroying souls, and for basically being responsible for their pain and suffering, but as long as he could watch Danny every chance he got, he would do it. If it meant Hades would keep his promise to leave them alone after his 20 years were up, and he could eventually return to Danny's arms, he would do it. It would all be worth it.

Phantom frowned.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Fun fact: The author was freezing her butt off while writing this chapter.**_

...

It was 1 week after Danny bumped into the new guy in town, but he had gotten over the chance meeting already. There was no way someone as gorgeous as that would give him the time of day anyway. Besides, everyone in Danny's life knew this one simple equation.

Danny + relationships = disaster.

It probably wouldn't work out, experience told Danny he was meant to die alone. He needed to just stop looking, stop desiring, stop dreaming about beautiful green eyes and seductively alluring lips...

The 37-year-old raven sighed, taking a sip of his coffee as he speed-walked to the office. If he wasn't there in 3 minutes he would be late for a meeting. Mr. Doore would not be happy with him if he was late again, this always happened with there was a bad traffic report. At least experience told him that he would only be about half a minute late at this rate.

He couldn't believe that if he had taken his car, he would have been 10 minutes behind with traffic. It was ironic really, how people get cars so that they can get to places on time without having to walk, but then one idiot runs a red light and smashes into a truck and suddenly walking is the key to punctuality.

Clutching his briefcase to his side and making sure the burned CD hadn't fallen out, Danny turned the corner only to crash right into someone bigger and buffer than he was. By some miracle, Danny's coffee spilled sideways and away from either of their clothes, but a familiar smell was tho only thing Danny registered for a moment after that.

That ringing in his ears was back as he breathed in the scent of honey and lavender, the back of his head trying to place where he knew that smell from, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember.

When he lifted his head and met the same green eyes that had haunted his dreams for the past week, Danny all but shrank as he tried to find something to say. That must be where he knew the smell, the stranger must have smelt that way the last time they bumped into each other.

The smirk the other male had was hypnotic, and Danny could feel heat flushing through him, "Well, hello again to you too," the stranger chuckled, "We've gotta stop meeting like this."

"I'm so sorry," Danny said with a small nervous chuckle as the green-eyed man swiped a small drop of coffee off his black skinny jeans, he couldn't believe he had done this to the poor man _again_. "I'm never paying any attention to where I'm walking, ha."

The small laugh that escaped the taller man took the raven's breath away and he blushed, "Don't worry about it, precious," he reached his hands up and adjusted Danny's scarf, which had fallen off slightly upon impact. Pulling the scarf closer around the raven's throat, Danny all but whined when soft fingers brushed along his jaw, "Stay warm."

And then the stranger was walking away, leaving Danny there to be stunned once again, frozen on the spot as he rubbed at his ringing ear.

_"Don't worry about it, precious."_

The words kept repeating over and over in his head, screaming and whispering all at once as the ringing got louder and louder until-

The beeping on his phone shocked him out of his confused state, and he all but jumped out of his skin as he realized he was now 2 minutes late for the meeting and if he didn't get hit booty through the door in the next 3 minutes, his ass would be getting chewed out by an angry Dombil Doore.

Well, this morning had not gone as planned, at all.

...

Days later, on the weekend when Danny found some free time on a Saturday morning, he took his daughter out to the park-like he normally did. Sam was still sick, so Gus was unable to come out to play with her. Must be _some_ stomach bug, 'cause 2 weeks later she's still sick. He had texted them this morning to ask if they were planning on taking her to a doctor, and they were, their appointment was already scheduled for this afternoon in a just couple of hours. Until they figured out what was wrong and got her some treatment though, Danny didn't see Gus being able to come to the park on a weekend.

He sighed, worried about Sam. Being sick for more than a week, max, was never a good sign. If a married woman in her late thirties was sick in the stomach for more than a week, then she was either pregnant or dying. There is honestly no in-between that Danny could think of.

Danielle was currently building what looked like a snowman family of 4 with sticks for arms and rocks for faces and accessories. After a while of her playing by herself though, a few kids walked up to her with a big red ball and asked if she wanted to play. Danny recognized them, they were the same kids that came to this park to play all the time. He was just close enough to hear what they were saying as he pretended to be busy doing something on his phone, like he wasn't eavesdropping at all.

"Hi, your name is Danielle, right? Do you want to play with us?" one of the three children asked. They were all friends and Danny had noticed that whenever they came to the park, they were always together. It was a little boy a couple of years younger than Danielle and the two other girls who's ages Danny couldn't guess just by looking at them, but he knew they had to be at least 10 or younger.

Danielle blushed and hid her chin in her scarf, not saying anything but just standing there like she was afraid to speak.

The girl who spoke seemed like she expected this to happen as if it had happened before. "Come on, we have a new ball my Mommy got me, we can play catch."

When Danielle didn't say anything, the blond girl with the ball in her hand reached out for the shy girl's, and poor Danielle looked as if she wanted to shrink. "Come on, my name is Sara, these are my friends, Max and Maya. You're always by yourself when that other boy isn't here. Come play with us."

The smile on her face was kind, and for the first time ever, Danny witnessed his daughter actually responding to another child who wasn't Gus.

When Danielle slowly reached a gloved hand out and put it in Sara's, her father had never been more proud. He had been trying to coax her into talking to someone other than Gus, and so far his mission to get his daughter to be more social had been an epic fail, but now maybe she would actually make another friend today for the first time ever.

With a smile, Danny watched as the 4 kids walked over to a wider space and start to throw the ball around to each other. Every time one of them dropped it they would run after it as it rolled until they were able to catch it and the other kids laughed at them for missing.

When Danny's phone rang and he saw that his agent was calling him, Danny groaned, knowing it couldn't be good. He answered it.

"Hello?" He asked bitterly

"_Mr. Fenton_!" Mr. Doore's voice sounded frustrated, and Danny dragged his hand down his face, wondering what he had done to piss the man off this time.

"Yes, Mr. Doore?"

_"You didn't turn in your song yesterday."_

Danny's head shook for a moment as he tried to process what the other just said, "What the hell do you mean 'I didn't turn it in'? I literally walked to the office yesterday and physically put it in Sandra's hands."

_"Then how come it isn't in my file?"_

"How should I know?" Danny said, getting frustrated himself, "What happened to my song, Doore, where has it gone?" it was an artist's worst nightmare whenever a piece that they worked hard on, that they put their heart and soul into, up and disappears. "When I put the disk into Sandra's hands every Friday afternoon, it is her responsibility to upload it into your file safely. So, yes, do tell me, sir, _how come it isn't in your file_?" anger was obscenely legible in his voice, because he knew that something had to have happened to his song between the moment he handed it to Sandra, to now.

Mr. Doore stuttered, "_Uh, well, can you tell me what time you turned it in? I'll have to have a talk with her then._"

Danny face-palmed and muttered that he turned it in around 3 pm the day before, but it was that moment, that one moment when he took his eyes and focus off of Danielle that all hell broke loose.

The first thing he was aware of was the scream from one of the other children yelling, "No! Danielle, that's the street!"

Those horrifying words had Danny gasping as he dropped his phone, call still connected to Mr. Doore as his eyes shot up to see his daughter running out the entrance to the park chasing after the red ball that was leading her towards the active intersection right outside the gate.

"Danielle, no!" He yelled, already shooting up, but he knew with the heart-stopping awareness that he wasn't going to make it on time, that the car speeding down the street going at least 50 miles an hour was so much faster than he was. He was aware that the red ball had bounced off the sidewalk and Danielle was still following it, seeming unaware of the danger speeding right toward her.

This was just a dream, the panic in his lungs and the fear burning in his eyes was all just a product of a very bad dream. The sound of screeching tires wasn't a real one, nor was the sound of screams and shocked people shouting about what was about to happen. The sight of his daughter catching the ball, standing in the middle of the street was just a product of his imagination and in just a few seconds he would be shooting up in bed awakening from this horrible nightmare.

Danny screamed again when he realized the car wasn't going to be able to stop in time. His whole world was about to end, it was like his brain was already preparing himself for what was going to happen. He was about to lose his daughter, his sweet little girl who had her whole life ahead of her, she was about to die the most sudden and unfair death because Danny took his eyes off of her _once_. One time is all it takes, and all Danny could do was shut his eyes at the last second. He wasn't ready to see the moment the huge car made an impact with his 4-foot tall child, he would never be ready, there was no way that she would survive.

Everything was black for a couple of seconds, but then the most amazing thing happened.

There was no thud.

There was no ugly sound telling Danny the _second_ that the car hit Danielle, and with hope, the father uncovered his eyes and caught sight of the small crowd circling the front of the car, blocking his view. Running the rest of the way over and pushing through the people, uncaring whether he knocked them down or not, Danny found his daughter on the ground a few feet away from where she had been standing in the car's path.

The stranger with white hair was in the process of standing up, the shocked little girl with a haunted look on her face in his arms as the driver got out of the car.

"Is she okay?" the driver asked, but Danny ignored him as he snatched Danielle right from the stranger's arms and hugged her tightly with a broken sob leaving his lips. He all but fell to his knees as the 8-year-old hugged around his neck, and for a good few seconds, as someone took his arm and lead them out of the street, Danny was unable to find words as a few tears ran down his cheeks. The discomfort from crying in 28-degree weather didn't register to him, though, just the fact that his daughter was safe and sound did.

But when those few seconds ended... _oh boy_.

Angry blue daggers regarded the driver with the most venomous, poisonous glare that Danny had ever aimed at anyone in his life.

"What the hell were you doing _speeding_ so close to a park," he started in on the man who was too pale and cold from not wearing a heavy enough jacket to be able to speak or even think of defending himself. Not that he could, because he was, in fact, speeding. "Can't you _read_? The sign says the speed limit is 30 miles an hour! What in the hell were you doing going _50_ _miles_ _an_ _hour_?! Did you not see the signs every _ten_ _feet_ saying 'CHILDREN AT PLAY'? _How stupid are you_?"

The driver stuttered as Danny snapped a photo of him and his license plate, and the father was already thinking about all the things he was going to put in the report. Before the driver could do or say anything else, Danny had turned and started walking away back into the park towards his stuff.

That's when he passed right by the man that had saved Danielle and realized that the stranger he had been bumping into for the past 2 weeks was the same man that tackled Danielle out of the car's way.

His eyebrows rose, and for the first time as Danielle took her wet face out of her father's neck, she spoke. Though Danny didn't take his eyes off of the white-haired man.

"Daddy, he saved my life, are you sure he doesn't love us?"

Laughing sadly, still recovering from what just happened as all the witnesses left or continued with their lives, Danny shook his head, "No, sweetie, that just makes him a really good person."

If only there was a way to thank him, to express how grateful he was for him to be the one person in the 10 or so people around doing nothing but watching, to do something other than whip a phone out and press record. There was no way though, there was no way to tell this man just how thankful he was, no way to convey his gratitude as the man took a couple of slow steps towards him.

"You know," the stranger said, "We keep meeting under such unexpected circumstances. Think maybe it's a coincidence or should I take the hint and take you out to lunch?"

The flirt did not go unnoticed by the raven male, but despite how his relationships ended in the past, there was only one answer. "Anyone who is willing to jump in front of a car for my little girl can definitely take me to lunch."

Green eyes brightened, glimmering in the winter sunlight as he reached a hand out for Danny to take, "I'm Dan."

"Danny," he took his hand and shook it, "the princess you saved is Danielle."

Dan's smile had the most pearly white and straight set of teeth that Danny had seen since Mr. Smiley, and the raven briefly imagined running his tongue along them. "It's nice to finally properly meet you, Danny. Danielle." The little girl waved when Dan said hi to her. "So, when and where should I meet you?"

"Um," Danny faltered, unable to believe that this was really happening. Dan, the man he had been non-stop thinking about for the past two weeks was asking him out. He wanted to buy him lunch and it felt like he was crushing in high school all over again. "How about Monday around 12 pm at the diner just around that corner over there."

The taller man nodded, pulling out a marker from his pocket and reaching out for Danny's hand again. When Danny reached out, Dan gently grasped his wrist and flipped his hand over, writing something on his palm.

Danny smiled dreamily at the feel of cool soft hands holding his, chilled from the freezing weather, "What are you writing?"

"Just my number," when he was finished writing, he recapped the marker and gave Danny another flirtatious smile. "See you Monday," he said as he started walking away.

Danny watched Dan walk as he slowly backed away to his forgotten stuff, his phone still on the ground and his coffee cup now cold and unsatisfying. When he told Danielle it was time to go home, she didn't argue, even when the kids she was playing with earlier walked over to see if she was okay. She didn't say anything to them and just buried her face further in her Dad's scarf as he gathered his things and they left.

He was going to have a long _colorful_ talk to her about safety when they got home.

...

_**OMG, GUYS! Their date is the next chapter.**_


	8. Chapter 8

A wet tongue dragged its way across sensitive flesh, and Danny hummed at the succulent taste of the other teen as he thrust into him. Soft moans left the raven's lips and he scratched his nails down the cool broad shoulders that hovered over him. Danny could feel every inch of him as he slowly slid in and out. In and out. In... and _out_.

Danny gasped as he lifted his legs higher, draping them over his shoulders as he brought them closer, slid in deeper. Meticulously drawing out every bit of friction as the older teen pushed against that sweet spot deep inside Danny, finding it easily over, and over, and _over_. Hands gripped at his butt as breath heated the raven's pale neck, and he started thrusting a little faster, overwhelmed with the sensation of being inside the boy's tight heat.

The younger teen moaned, unable to do anything but make noise and grip at the other that made him feel incredible. Danny purposely clenched his walls around him, and the raven started trembling when a moan that was not his own sounded as the thrusting got harder.

Biting down on the shoulder that moved against him, Danny's eyes rolled back as the heat coiling in his lower gut got tighter. The hands holding his butt slid up his trembling thighs till he pushed the back of the raven's knees forward, folding him in half and shaking as he leaned to plant soft and beautiful lips against Danny's.

Unable to do anything but touch and feel and moan, Danny did all those things as he lost sight of everything around him. His body was tightening, his toes were curling, his mouth breaking away from him to let out a loud and gratified scream as the heat finally started to turn into electricity.

"Yes!" He finally manages to force out around the broken moaning, "Pha-Phan-hmm, _har-ha-AH-harder_."

Complying to Danny's request, he buried his face in the raven's throat and braced himself with his arms wrapping around his body before he started jack-hammering into the slightly smaller teen. His movements were impetuous, forceful and almost rough, and that's when Danny lost it.

His breath left him, his sense taken along with it. All Danny could think about or comprehend was the body in his arms, how perfectly he fit against him, and how intimately they knew each other.

With a strangled whimper and a long drawn out moan that sounded more like a cry, Danny all but exploded.

...

Danny shot up into a sitting position on the bed with a gasp at the sound of the alarm going off on the table next to him, letting him know it was time to get up to take Danielle to school.

He was flushed red and was panting harshly, and the tingling in his groin let him know that he was in no shape to start the day just yet, but with no time to properly take care of himself, Danny was under the cold of a shower in less than a minute.

Bracing his palms flat against the wall, Danny recalled the dream. The memory of who it was had already left him, and now the face he was being thoroughly fucked by was nothing but a black smudge covering up his identity. He sighed as he rubbed at his ringing ears, the irritating high pitched sound driving him insane.

Turning the knob to heat when his raging boner lightened, Danny washed up and got out of the shower only a few moments off schedule. He quickly got dressed in something warm, not bothering to think about looking good just yet as his date wasn't until later. When he was done and ready, Danny left to wake up his daughter and make sure that she also dressed in something warm.

The morning continued uneventful, and Danny all but completely forgot about the extremely pleasant dream until he was dressing to get ready to meet Dan. He had talked to Sam and Tucker the other day about the date and they were very happy to hear that Danny was _interested_ -for the very first time- in a man that wanted to date him. All in all, Saturday had been a very happy day for everyone. It had started a little rough, what with the almost accident involving a car and Danielle, but other than that it had been a very strong and powerful happy day. Danielle made new friends, Danny found a man that he wanted to try and have a relationship with, and they found out that Sam wasn't sick with a stomach bug but was _pregnant_!

Danny was excited, it was like a switch was flipped Saturday morning and suddenly everything in their lives was getting better.

Which was why Danny stood in front of the mirror wearing a black button-up, holding similar shirts on the hanger in front of him and debating to change into the blue or the red one. The black shirt made him look like an emo teenager struggling with depression, and though that's how he felt most days of his life, that wasn't exactly the impression he was going for on a first date with Dan.

Deciding the red one was too lewd of color for a simple lunch date, Danny slipped off the black shirt and put on the sky blue long sleeve, unbuttoning the top few buttons to show a little of his pale chest and putting a black button-less sweater on over it. Choosing not to make himself look like a dork by tucking the shirt into his black skinny jeans, Danny went downstairs and picked up his keys.

The diner smelled like coffee and chocolate, and the raven was glad that the place wasn't all that crowded as normally this was a family restaurant and all the kids were supposed to be in school right now. This was Danny's favorite place to eat, mostly because of the smell, and how comforting the pancakes were. The lobby was dimly lit and the booths lined up against a wall, but Danny could see that Dan was sitting by himself at the end.

Without even realizing he had a smile on his face as he walked over, Danny greeted the older. Or at least he thought he was older, he couldn't be certain, something told him he was though.

Dan smiled up at him in hello, and once again Danny nearly swooned at how sweet the man's smile was.

"Hello there, gorgeous," Dan said as Danny sat down across from him.

Blushing, Danny said back, "Hi, how was your weekend? Save any other kids from sudden death?"

With a chuckle, Dan shook his head, "Nah, just little Danielle."

The raven did not need the menu, he had eaten here dozens of times before and already knew exactly what he wanted. "Have you eaten here before?"

Dan shook his head, "Nah, I mostly stick to cheap food, got the diet of a college student pretty much." he laughed, remembering how he ate macaroni and cheese with white rice last night. "Also don't know anyone in this town, you're the first person I go out with. Going to places like this isn't as fun unless you're with someone."

"Oh yeah?" Danny smirked, looking the man up and down subconsciously. Dan did not look like this so-called 'college student diet' was affecting his perfect physique in the _slightest_, the raven noticed lustfully. "Eating the roman noodles and the dollar cheeseburgers from the nasty burger?"

Lifting a menu for himself, "yup, that's pretty much what I live off of. There might be a carrot in there somewhere, maybe some eggs, you know I gotta get that protein. What's good here though? You seem to know what you want already." He already knew what he wanted to eat; Danny used to take him to this spot all the time.

"The steak and eggs are pretty good, I used to get it every Sunday for at least 10 years before I changed it up with the spinach omelet, which is also good, but I'm gonna get the pancakes today." The waitress came and asked for their drinks. Phantom got water and Danny got orange juice and as the raven sipped at the citric juice the older man considered his next move.

Seducing Danny was not something that had ever been hard for him, not in the slightest. That didn't mean that the raven was easy though, Danny had a difficult exterior that he would have to find a way to break through if he wanted to get back into his heart. What was going to be troublesome was making Danny crave him as much as he used to, making the boy need him as he needed him when they were 17. He wanted Danny to love him the way that he used to or he would never feel complete, life would be too empty. Bland.

"So tell me about yourself, Danny," he said as he sipped his water.

"Well I'm a lonely father, though I think you've gathered that much already," he chuckled miserably, "I live alone with her in a house. I make music for a living, and I wrote a book that turned into a movie, I don't know if you've heard of it? It's called Depths?"

Phantom shook his head as he lied, "Nah, can't say that I have."

This made Danny relax a little, much to the elder's satisfaction. To Danny, it meant that because the white-haired man didn't know that he was famous, he wasn't just after money.

"I'll be looking into it though," the man continued, knowing Danny thought it was sexy when a man showed interest in his life's work. The raven was an artist at heart, and everything he put into the world came directly from his soul, everything he did from his music to the book he wrote to the occasional painting that he made all had a little piece of him. He put a lot of love into his work and Phantom knew that he craved attention on that matter, he wanted people to admire what he does and the ex-merman wanted nothing more than to show him that he adored everything that the human did.

Danny grinned, "Are you a fan of romance, or Greek mythology?"

"Actually, yeah," he sipped his water again, "I've always had a small interest in mythical creatures. Like the Harpy, griffins, Pegasus... Mermaids in particular."

"What a coincidence, my book revolves around the existence of sirens. It's a little rough in the beginning, and maybe even a little gory, but overall I think it's artistically dramatic."

"Really?" Phantom pretended he didn't already know every single solitary thing that the book was about, "Well, I'd love to read that. Your friends and family must be very proud that you're so successful."

Danny nodded, deciding that the first date wasn't the day to explain how and why he didn't talk to his family. Other than his sister, Danny had been distant from most of his relatives. His mother, he talked to sometimes, called her on her birthday and visited during holidays and all that, but his father?

Well, he hadn't talked much to his father since he went to jail. It was a tragic fact that he had seen his dad all of 5 times in the last 20 years. It was depressing to think about how angry his father was with him to refuse to see him during 99% of his visits. It was disappointing that he didn't have much of a relationship with his father, and by extension, Danielle didn't have any relationship with her grandfather. Jack had only seen her a couple of times since Danny brought her home from the adoption agency, but she somehow still loved him. Danielle always had a big heart, so it wasn't a surprise to Danny though.

Honestly, Jack Fenton was not the same man that he was before prison. He had tattoos, piercing, a look on his face that expressed paranoia and contempt for those around him, and if that wasn't enough of a change, his attitude was completely different. He looked at Danny like... well.

It wasn't the same proud and loving look he used to give his son, now it was like... almost like he was afraid. _Intimidated_.

Danny couldn't fathom why though.

The internal monologue was interrupted when the waitress came to take their order. Quickly telling the lady what they both wanted, she disappeared to the kitchen.

When Danny set his orange juice down and looked up at Dan, he froze for a moment at the intense gaze the elder was giving him. His green eyes were sharp, his stare fastidious, and the way that he was staring at him as if he didn't even realize he was doing it made the raven flutter as he found that it in no way made him uncomfortable. The man was looking at him like he was a rare diamond or an expensive painting that required a little more than just a few seconds of attention. It was nice; the first date, and already he was being doted on.

It was time to snap Dan out of it though, "So how old are you? I'm not dating a 70-year-old am I?" he chuckled.

The white-haired man blinked before answering with another grin, "Nah, I'm 37, but I warn you, I've been told that I speak like I'm from a whole other era." He had to figure out some way to explain away his behavior. Hopefully, if he accidentally said something strange like implying that he was much older than he was, Danny would just throw it off. "I swear I died at, like, age _150_ in another life."

Laughing, Danny asked, "So tell me about your life. What is it that got you to the most monotonous town in America? I know it wasn't because of our tourist attractions."

"Well, I'm an only child, and without telling you my whole life story, I lived in a bad home growing up, so I got the hell out of there as soon as I could and never went back," It wasn't a lie, that was pretty much what happened, minus all the magic and the mermaids he used to live and fight with often. "I've got no family, and I left all my friends behind when I moved here hoping a small town would bring a more happy and mellow life."

His explanation was a little sad, but in light of the first date, Danny wasn't about to push for more, "Well, prepare to be amazed by just how '_mellow_ 'and boring it gets here."

"I don't know," the man said with a flirtatious gleam in his eye as he gave Danny an alluring look, "I'm having a lot of fun. I've only been here a few weeks, but I'm already liking Amity Park."

Danny blushed and broke eye contact, trying to look anywhere but at the smoldering green eyes that were quickly becoming his favorite color.

"You're cute in red."

The raven glanced up at Dan with slight confusion, "I'm not wearing red."

"I didn't mean your clothes."

Flushing harder and nearly disgusted with how corny that pick up line was when he realized what he was talking about, Danny laughed and shook his head. He could get used to this. "That was such a lame pick up line," he said still giggling.

"But it worked though, 'cause you're just blushing harder." Dan was just teasing him now, but the raven was eating it up, starved of mutual temptation.

Lunch went on for an hour, and when the waitress brought their food they ate quickly, hungry and more interested in talking to each other than stuffing their faces with food. Danny saw a change in himself already; on past dates, he would eat slowly so that he could waste time chewing his food instead of actually talking to the other person, now though he just wanted to finish his food quickly so he could keep getting to know the gorgeous human being sitting in front of him.

When they were done eating and became concerned with the owner of the restaurant charging them rent for how long they stayed there talking, flirting and holding up the table, they decided to go to the park to walk along the trail through the woods. It was alright because Danny still had a good 3 hours before he needed to pick up Danielle from school, so he still had plenty of time to socialize and get to know Dan. Which was exactly what he wanted.

He didn't know what had changed, and his sudden interest in being in a romantic relationship gave him a little whiplash, but there was something about Dan that made him want to hold onto him, and never let go. He wanted Dan, he wanted this to work, and he knew that if it didn't, he would probably never date again. Already, this early in the relationship, he knew he would be crushed if Dan decided he didn't want him. He felt so vulnerable, so open, so out of control and all-around terrified that his heart was going to be broken soon, but even with all of that he didn't want to cower or chicken when Dan suggested a second date.

Danny had fun, he was able to spend time with another person who's only intentions were to get to know the raven on a personal and passionate level without feeling like he was betraying himself in some way. This was the first time this had happened and it felt incredible. He was with Gregore 8 excruciating months, and already his ex had nothing on Dan.

Phantom listened and talked to Danny the whole time they walked. It was cold outside, but they both had enough clothes on their bodies to stay warm. He made sure to walk a little closer to exchange body heat though, and he also bought them both some hot chocolate which also helped to keep them decently warm in the 45-degree weather. The sun was out and there was no breeze, so the walk was made very comfortable, keeping them both from shivering with chattering teeth as they talked and laughed.

Phantom watched the raven the whole time, falling deeper and deeper in love with the man all over again. That old saying that he used to hear all the time about distance making the heart grow fonder had never been so true to him. It was painful, how deep his affection for Danny was yet it was too soon to show him just how much Phantom wanted from him. He wished with every fiber of his being that he could just lean down and kiss Danny and smooth out the weather chapped lips that called out for him, the lips that he missed _so much. _Hold those perfect cheeks in his hands and make up for 20 years of lost time. Make up for every morning that he couldn't wake up with him curled in his arms, for every time he couldn't hold him when he cried, for every meal that he didn't eat with him and every night that they were apart.

It was too soon for that though. Danny was too delicate, and if he moved too fast, then he might push the raven away and he didn't want him any farther than he was right then. Phantom needed to play it cool, keep the boy in the illusion that they had just met. He needed to pretend that he never met Danny before, and keep it as if they were only just falling for each other and Phantom _hadn't_ loved him for over 20 years now. He didn't know if it was possible that Danny would ever remember the truth, he could only hope, but he would wait for that time to come to sob and cry about how much he was suffering and not a second before.

It may have taken a painfully long time to be back in Danny's life, and he may have had to go through hell as Hades took full advantage of his ability to feel remorse, but it was all worth it in the end.

He was here now. Everything was right in the world. Danny was alive and beautiful. The raven was experiencing and had lived his life the way he was always meant to. Phantom was back, and he was _here_ to feel the heat of Danny's hand as they clasped together while they walked. He was _here_ to feel how soft the skin on his wrist was, and how comforting the microscopic thumping of Danny's pulse against his thumb was. He could hear his voice and was _here_ to see him smile and to _see_ those stunning blue eyes brighten at all the jokes _he_ said, whether they were decent jokes or lame ones.

Phantom had no regrets.

...

**_Awwwww. They're back together. I'm so happy..._**


	9. Chapter 9

Danny's living room was dark, and the only light in the room was the light from the TV that played softly. So softly that Phantom could hardly hear it at all. Not that he was trying to. He had better, more interesting things to watch. Things like the cute way that Danny's nostrils flared in his sleep, and how he rubbed at his nose and cuddled closer into the elder's shoulder for warmth.

Phantom pet his cheek as they lay on the couch, holding him close as Danny used his shoulder as a pillow. This was the third time that he was invited into the raven's house and he couldn't be happier about the progression of the relationship. Even though Danny didn't remember him, didn't know his real name, his real age, where he came from, or anything about his origins, Phantom could still only be happy. Despite everything, he was here with the human who taught him his humanity. Danny was warm and in his arms right now, and that was all that mattered to the ex-merman.

Though, he could complain, however, about the fact that Danny hadn't let him kiss him yet. It had been a long 6 weeks full of ice cream, dates, long walks in the park and Phantom practically begging with his eyes for even just one kiss, but so far there was nothing.

He wouldn't dare verbally mentioned it to Danny, but it was _killing_ him.

It was flattering in a way because he knew for a fact that Danny normally became a kisser after the third or fourth date, but with Phantom, it had been weeks and still not even a peck. He didn't know if Danny was doing some soul searching, or if he was holding back out of fear from this being the one, and only, relationship he had ever wanted to keep, but the only kisses that have been exchanged were sweet ones on the hand or cheek and it had Phantom figuratively on his knees.

He would wait though; there was no other option.

Twirling a finger through his raven locks was something he always loved doing to Danny, even when they were teenagers, the boy's hair was always so soft. The silly human would always eat up the attention and cuddle closer but then pretend that he wasn't a clingy boyfriend.

Phantom sighed, bringing the boy closer to him and burying his nose in the lavender-scented raven locks.

"Phantom..."

Green eyes opened with a start, his heart skipping a beat at the sound of that voice speaking his real name, but when he looked down, Danny's eyes were still shut tight.

Dreaming then... well, at least Danny knew him in his sleep. Phantom twirled the ends of the boy's hair between his fingers again.

"I'm here, precious."

A content sigh left Danny's lips and he snuggled closer, breathing in the smell of fresh laundry, rain, pine, and something else that was so unidentifiable yet entirely Phantom in all its foreign familiarity.

A small hum was Phantom's only warning before Danny's blue eyes opened slowly and the raven stretched.

Phantom smirked, "Hey there cutie, what were you dreaming of?"

Danny looked at him with confusion as he yawned and rubbed his eye, "Dream? _Hm_... I don't remember." He scratched at his head and leaned back to look at Dan's face, the lack of light making his features look alluring and bewitching, the brightness of his eyes looked to be deep forest green and his white hair reflected all the colors from the TV that hadn't stopped playing. He was stunning, and it made the raven's knees weak.

Not anymore weak than that look makes his legs feel though, the way that Dan looked at him like he was the only thing that deserved his attention. Like even if the Greek Goddess Aphrodite presented herself to him in all her beauty, power, and glory, Dan wouldn't be bothered to take his eyes off of him. It made his chest heat up pleasantly, and no words could be pulled from the back of his throat. Dan's arms were strong, strong enough to crush him like a toothpick if he so desired, but he was gentle. Doting as he brushed a thumb across his cheek, the pad of his thumb adoring the smooth skin beneath it.

"Do you wanna spend the night here?" Danny asked, not wanting this warmth to ever end. Danielle was sleeping over with Gus, as Danny always made sure she was out of the house when Dan came over. In case anything were to happen...

Dan smiled happily, and Danny would have swooned if he were standing up, as it was those lips made his mind foggy. "I couldn't be happier to stay."

There was something in those eyes, even as dark as the room was, Danny could see the twinkle in them. They trailed along Danny's face as if taking in every feature for the millionth time, and the lost, almost _pleading_ look brought heat to the raven's cheeks.

Feeling brave for the first time in Danny couldn't remember how long, the raven slowly inched closer. Phantom didn't move a muscle.

Danny had been too scared to kiss Dan, too afraid that the joy he felt whenever the man was around would disappear as soon as their lips touched. That's how things usually ended whenever Danny let anyone kiss him, any happiness or joy that he felt, even as minor as it was, it always went away the moment they kissed. It always felt offensive, like Danny was making a mistake as every fiber of his being screamed 'wrong, wrong, wrong.'

But the moment Danny felt the tiniest brush of Dan's lips against his, he knew those fears would never be justified again as long as Dan never went away. His breath caught in his throat as heat pooled all through his body, and he hadn't even properly kissed him yet.

As soon as Danny fully pressed their lips together, he knew that any form of search was over. The answer was right here in his hands. He didn't care if Dan and he ended up staying together until they were 100, or if they broke up the next day; Danny would never again find this. This feeling of being whole, of being complete, and of loving someone so much that it could almost be considered painful. Unbearably painful only if he couldn't do this as often as he wanted.

The light smack between them as Dan deepened the kiss forced out an overwhelmed whine from the raven. Of course, this man had to be the best kisser in the world. The way he moved his lips and slipped that tongue in his mouth was so sinful that Danny dizzily found himself climbing up to straddle the older man.

Danny had always read romance novels describing the first kiss as electric, hell, even the novel he wrote himself if he remembered correctly. He had never really understood the feeling so intimately until now though. Suddenly he knew what that 'electric shock' that people were supposed to feel when kissing someone they loved felt like. It didn't seem so cliche to him anymore to describe it that way either. It was like he was falling but grounded at the same time. Heating up but shivering, feeling so unbelievably happy and content that he wanted to cry all at once.

Dan's lips were so soft, so velvety against him as the kiss became less gentle and more hungry. The white-haired-man could only be described as a starved animal as those lips attacked his passionately and with purpose. Danny hummed, digging his hands in snow-white hair and gripping the strands between his fingers. The raven had never felt so good when kissing someone and now he didn't think he would be able to stop. The word wasn't even in his dictionary anymore, stopping was not an option as he noticed that Dan's lips had remanents of the smores they were eating earlier. The sweetness of the marshmallow and the bitterness of dark chocolate was doing something to Danny's brain and kissing him harder was all he could to not devour him whole.

It took a moment for the raven to notice that they were moving, and the hands that had been running up and down his form were now cupping his butt to support his weight as Dan carried him up the stairs. Panting for breath at those lips trailed kisses down his sensitive throat, Danny realized that this was the point where he usually forced his potential partner to stop right before kicking them out of his life faster than instant ramen. This time though, as he directed Dan in the direction of his bedroom, not an ounce of Danny's being wanted this man to leave.

Shedding off their clothes, Dan lay Danny on his back and climbed over him lavishing his throat and exposed chest with deep marks. Dark red contrasted against the pale whiteness of the raven's form and it comforted Phantom to see them there like he could finally say with certainty that Danny was all his again.

When pearly white teeth gently bit down on a pale shoulder, a long drawn out moan left trembling lips and a deep red blush cutely stained Danny's cheeks down to the base of his throat.

Phantom's eyes flashed, _'Gee, I wonder where he got a biting kink from...'_ he thought with an amused smirk as he licked around a faded scar. They were barely noticeable now.

Danny's hands trailed down, feeling the muscle that rippled and flexed above him. Dan was gorgeously sculpted and tight with just enough softness to be comforting instead of intimidating. They were both stripped down to their briefs and as Danny brought his hand down to trace the hard bulge there, his eyes widened and Dan groaned.

"Big-big!" he stuttered as he thought about how much he would need to stretch to accommodate someone of that size.

Dan was quick to comfort him, "Shhh, Danny. Relax. I'm not going to hurt you." he kissed his chest, right above his heart. "I'm going to make love to you, slowly, and you are going to enjoy it."

His words went right to the tightness in his boxers, and the hot breath against his flesh made him tingle so much that he could only breath and massage the hardness still clutched in his hand. Dan all but growled and rut against his palm once. Twice. Three times before he reached for Danny's wrist and brought his hand up to wrap around his neck. "Not too hasty, precious. I plan on taking my sweet time with you."

20 years of lost time had brought him to this moment, and he was going to meticulously savor every second of it. It was time to re-familiarize himself with Danny's body, time to learn what 20 years of age have done to him. How he has changed, what was still the same, what he tasted like now, but most of all what he _felt_ like.

"Do you trust me?" He asked between kisses as he made his way down to a pink nipple.

Danny nodded hurriedly, panting harshly when a wet tongue brushed against the sensitive bud, "With my life," he whimpered.

Those were the last words that Danny was capable of speaking that night as Phantom thoroughly robbed him of the ability to talk. All he was left with were moans and screams as Dan played his body like a pianist to a piano.

Fingers reduced him to a flushed panting mess as two pushed inside him, finding his spot scarily fast and pressing against it until Danny thought that he would explode from the delicious inner torture being inflicted on him. He wanted to beg, wanted to plead for more, but the only thing that came out of his mouth by the time 4 fingers were playing around inside of him was embarrassingly loud noises. Noises that sounded strangled, almost girlish as he yelped and groaned and screamed until finally, just as he thought he would cum, Dan stopped.

Even without the senses that he used to have as a merman, where he could smell the lust that dripped from Danny's pores, Phantom was still ensnared by the scent that filled his lungs. It was still so sweet, matching the taste of him as he sucked him off. Danny's back arched as he all but screamed when the ex-merman put his dick in his mouth, and though it was much bigger than it was 20 years ago, it was still small enough for a comfortable fit. This time, when the raven's thighs started trembling he allowed him to cum if only so he could learn just what he tasted like.

As the hands gripping his hair clenched in a tight grip and ecstasy plagued every ounce of Danny's being, Phantom swallowed down every drop given to him.

The raven only had a moment to recover before Phantom was hovering over him, lips and tongue attacking his throat as his hands caressed and gripped at succulently full thighs and ass cheeks, spreading them apart and lining himself up.

Danny heard the man groan as he paused, "Please, Danny, can I put it in?"

A flutter of joy flushed the raven's cheeks, appreciating the patience and respect for consent and permission. He hummed and nodded, bringing his hands up and around Dan's shoulders, bringing him closer.

Turns out 4 fingers may have been a little short of what was needed, but Danny couldn't complain. 4 was just enough to make the pain feel incredible, and when Dan paused to give him time to adjust to the stretch, all he wanted to do was beg him to move. Even as he opened his mouth to do so though, the only thing that came out of his mouth was whimpers.

Dan was shaking above him, trembling with the effort of remaining in control of himself. It was sweet and endearing and Danny kissed his temple for it.

After a moment, Phantom set a torturously slow pace, savoring the feel of Danny's walls clenching around him. Basking in the delicious friction. The tightness. The heat. Green eyes rolled back as one of his thrusts hit a little harder than the others, and he swallowed thickly at the way Danny wrapped his legs around him.

The slow pace didn't last long, and soon Phantom was holding Danny's wrists down and using them to brace himself as he pounded against that spot that he knew would have the raven screaming loud enough to wake the whole city. 20 years of abstinence hadn't done well for either of their endurance, but that didn't matter. Phantom loved him hard and fast, and Danny took all that the older gave him, enjoying every movement and every sound.

But when Phantom sank his teeth into his shoulder, Danny saw white and he suddenly found his voice for more than just to moan.

"Do that again," he commanded, scratching his nails down Dan's back in need.

Phantom didn't disappoint, and he bit him in the particularly sensitive part on the side of his throat right over his racing pulse.

"Harder. Yes!" Those were his last words before they turned into screams as the older man did as he was demanded, biting so hard he could almost taste blood as he angled himself to brush against his prostate with every push of his hips.

Long legs flailed and shook as Danny got closer and closer until Phantom grabbed his thighs and lifted them onto his shoulders, resuming his unforgiving pace and holding Danny's hands down. He pounded the raven until he was completely wrecked, until he thought the poor thing would have a heart attack with how fast his heart was beating. Even when Danny came with the loudest shout of the night, he didn't stop his almost aggressive pace. He couldn't get enough of the raven, and he didn't think he ever would. The lube that he had used had almost dried, but the excess friction felt too good he couldn't be bothered to stop and reapply.

Without warning, Phantom came soon after the raven did, clutching Danny in his arms like he wanted to ever since they first had sex. Now that he didn't have godly strength, he didn't have to worry about accidentally crushing Danny, he could hold him through his orgasm as tightly as he wanted now...

Releasing Danny's numb legs in favor of falling over on his side, Phantom panted as he pulled Danny's trembling body closer and their arms tangled around them. No words were spoken. None needed to be spoken. They were content just resting there, basking in the afterglow, curling around each other and allowing themselves to be held by the other.

Phantom kissed the top of Danny's head, drawing little patterns in his back as the raven dozed off. Danny always softened with aftercare.

He just wished the boy would remember that himself.


	10. Chapter 10

_****Hey ummm... remember me?****_

...

It was morning time in the Fenton house, and Danny was brushing his daughter's long hair. Helping her get ready for school was something that he usually only did minimally, as she was around that age where things, like brushing hair or putting on clothes, was something they generally did independently. He helped her today however, he really wanted to discuss something with her.

It had been months since he and Dan started dating, almost a year, and Danny couldn't remember being this happy or fulfilled since he officially adopted Dani.

"Dani, how do you like Dan?"

She glanced up at him through the mirror with almost identical light blue eyes, her eyelashes slightly longer than his and a bit more curly. He already knew that she was going to grow up to be a heartbreaker, and he wasn't sure if he was ready for it.

"I love him. Just like you do, Daddy," she smiled at him and giggled when his hand stopped brushing through her hair and his eyes widened. "Come on, Daddy, did you think you were hiding it? From me? I knew it all along."

He stared down at his personal little angel in wonder, remembering what she said the first time they met Dan. She had called it then, as she did every chance meeting after that until they finally started dating. She did know the whole time. Even before Danny was ready to admit it himself.

Danny smiled sweetly down at her, resuming his hard work to put her thick and long black hair into a ponytail.

"You're a very smart girl, sweetie."

"Well, I am your daughter."

...

In the months that they had been together, they had slowly upgraded from humble family restaurants to the classy ones that people typically refused to go to unless they had a date until finally they got over eating out and decided that staying home to cook was what they liked best. Going to the store together and picking out things they like to eat and deciding along the way what they were going to do with all their chosen ingredients before going home to cook it all together was much more fun and personal to Phantom and Danny.

They spent almost every day with each other nowadays. Honestly, there wasn't a week that passed without them seeing the other at least once or twice. Neither of them minded it, in fact, they adored it and often wished they could spend even more time together. Phantom knew he had to move slowly though. He didn't want to scare Danny away by asking him to move in, so he had to be content with what he had right now.

It was alright, even though he didn't see Danny as often as he wanted and often had to wake up in bed alone, he was still so happy. The days that he spends with Danny and little Dani bring him more joy than he ever thought he was worthy or capable of. Seeing that little girl's face when he comes over, how it lights up in complete happiness as if he was someone that she looked up to and admired was the most fulfilling thing any merman would ever experience.

He loved Dani. Phantom had never known parental love. It was different from being loved by a father than to love as a father. He understood now though. To be loved, and to love, and he could die right this moment and be happy and content.

Still, though, he was happy that Danny sent Dani over to Sam and Tucker's some days. He did love his privacy with the raven male...

Staring over the table as Danny cut through his steak, Phantom rested his chin in his hands over his empty plate. How 20 years could go by and yet Danny still maintained the youthful good looks escaped him when Phantom himself had definitely aged a bit. Phantom's jaw was sharper, his neck a little thicker and the rest of his body much more muscled than he was when he was first turned into a human.

Danny definitely didn't seem to mind the changes though, as the raven still looked at him like he was the whole collection of stars and galaxies all wrapped up into one human body that he would never get tired of adoring.

Phantom hummed.

"I read your book," he finally said as Danny finished off his plate and wiped his face. Danny looked up at him, obviously shocked. Phantom hadn't told him that he was reading it. "It was beautiful."

A deep red blush covered the same cheeks Phantom kissed a thousand times before, whether the boy remembered them or not. Danny had never been so flattered that someone he knew took the time to read his book.

"Thank you," he said with a bashful smile, "As crazy as it sounds I wrote it in three days. Pulled two all-nighters and probably almost died from how much caffeine I pumped into my system." he put his silverware on his empty plate and got up to pick up Phantom's, "I can't imagine what possessed me to do something so reckless."

Phantom smirked. "No, I can't imagine either."

"I can't tell you how many grammatical errors there were. It was like I wrote it with no regard for how long it would take to go through and edit. Once it was done though, my friends liked it so much they inspired me to get it published. And here we are." Danny said as they both made their way to the kitchen to wash the dishes together. Phantom emptied the washer and Danny rinsed off the plates and forks.

"Well I think it came out perfect," Phantom said as his heart began to throb painfully, setting the clean glasses away, "A little sad at the ending though, do you think Max will ever get his memory back?"

Danny hummed in question as if he never considered it before, and Phantom swallowed, "I never really got that far with it, though I would hope that he does." Danny said almost sadly, "To love someone as deeply as Max did Phantom only to have that ripped away along with any shred of a memory of him, doomed to live the rest of his life with a part of himself missing. A part of himself that was so important, that he cherished more than anything in the world. It sounds like complete and horrifyingly unbearable torture."

"I think so too. Can you imagine what Phantom must feel though? To go 20 years being unable to touch, smell, or hear him and to have that bitter longing only curable by Max. Meanwhile having to go through who knows what kind of torture from Hades, yet even when he comes back Max has no idea who he is."

Danny's face fell as he thought about it, it does sound agonizing. Just being separated from a loved one like that, in general, sounded like the worst kind of hell that anyone could go through. Especially when they were forced to forget all about you. Danny hoped nobody would ever have to actually go through that.

"I suppose that would be horrible. But if Max felt as passionate about Phantom as I think he did, then his love is not bound to just his memory. It will be in his heart." Danny picked up the last plate that needed to be washed and put in the washer, staring at it intently as he considered the possible future of the book he wrote. "I don't think Phantom would have any problem getting Max to be as close to him as he once was. Perhaps Max will never get his memories back, but I think despite all the misery that came along with that loss, Phantom would be content to know that above all, Max is alive, safe, and out of Hades's radar."

Phantom put the last clean dish away, never taking his green eyes off the back of the raven's hair, "I think you're right."

Danny turned and smiled at him, closing the washer and starting the cycle before going over to his boyfriend and hugging around his middle. He buried his face in Dan's neck and breathed, feeling arms circle him to return the hug, "I'm tired. Stay the night."

Phantom nodded against his head and not ten minutes later, their teeth were brushed and their clothes were off.

They're laying together cuddled like how they used to when they were kids, Danny was practically on top of him but neither sex nor sleep was on his mind as a small bit of anxiety hit him. He was so happy with how things were going, but abandonment issues and PTSD from unhealthy relationships make him as terrified as he was happy.

"Don't you ever leave me, Dan."

Phantom's eyes opened as a flashback ran across his memory; _Don't you ever leave me, Phantom. _Smiling as he kissed the raven's forehead and turned to hold him closer, he murmured, "I have nowhere to go precious."

This time, he would keep this promise.

Danny laughed silently, what a strange thing to say. Dan had everywhere to go, a million other places that were far away from him. Still, his weirdly worded promise comforted him as he put his face in Dan's hand and nuzzled it like a house cat. His days of misery and loneliness are over, he would never again have to feel like he was missing a part of himself. It was right here in his arms.

Dani was right.

He absolutely loved Dan from the bottom of his heart, and he was going to ask him to move in with them tomorrow.

...

**_**Omg. I know, it's been months. Don't hate me. I can't tell you how busy I have been. I really did myself dirty this semester signing myself up for 2 government classes and my speech course plus my 2 art classes that take up a lot of time. I have never in my life ever needed an agenda but I got myself one of those a couple of weeks into the chaos of this semester and let me tell you, I have been using that thing RELIGIOUSLY. It is the mother fucking bible to me now. Hoot.**_**

**_**Anyways, with this corona thing going around and all the panic closing down all the schools, I have a lot more time on my hands right now. So this will definitely be finished soon. I only have one chapter left and I am even considering doing a rewrite of Depths. I am not sure yet, but I am considering and playing around with a plotline for one. If you wanna see it then blow my phone and email up with comments. **_**


	11. Chapter 11

She breathed to try out something new and catch a break from the boring rut she found herself in. It was probably a bad idea to stray from the pack; the humans tend to scatter and appear out of nowhere anywhere on the beach, but she didn't actually care at the moment. So what if they saw her? They would never be able to catch her, and to be honest, it would be interesting to see their reactions.

She was sick of staying in the cave, forced to flap around, and act like her 5-thousand-_something-_year-old self was having a good time waiting for her next meal to come around. Just knowing that she was one of the most dangerous predators in the whole universe had made her life interesting for the first thousand years. Still, nowadays, the excitement in her life was minimum.

All she did was eat and swim, eat and swim, and on an exciting day, she'll eat and swim- and then have to hide from a pack of humans. Life under the sea was bleak and exhausting. She wished she could say that it was beautiful in the depths of the ocean's deepest parts where no man or woman had ever been able to see, but she has been seeing it all for thousands of years.

The fish hadn't changed their colors, it was still big fish eat little fish, and she had already seen each of the 300,000 aquatic life species. The sharks were still dumb and rapidly going extinct, the coral reefs that were once bright and vibrant had not stopped dying everywhere she looked. She still has yet to go ten meters without seeing some kind of man-made garbage. It wasn't new or surprising to her anymore.

She had seen everything. Honestly, her intelligence was wasted on this empty life of eating and swimming. Her only purpose was to serve Hades, but she hoped for more.

Breaking the surface to see what the humans were doing, red eyes examined her surroundings. She was pretty far from the rest of the pack, the cove being on the other side of the beach, but she couldn't actually care less. She ventured outside the pack today because they hadn't gotten anywhere waiting around for their food to come to them lately, and she was hungry. Screw waiting. It was time to be a predator.

Right now, it was close to sunset, and there weren't that many humans around, only a couple males and one of the younger little girls. One of the males was gay, but the other one was attracted to both sexes.

Perfect.

She could easily lure the bi one in... Still, her eyes narrowed on an easier target as the child splashed along the shoreline- the two men weren't paying that much attention to her. They thought they were alone, and the little girl was big enough to know that it wasn't safe to play in the water at this time of the day. As she read the child's thoughts and scented the air for her smell, she knew that she was grown just enough that she wouldn't disobey her father or his boyfriend. Still too young, however, to separate fantasy from reality. If she managed to lure her in successfully, then the two men will likely think she drowned, and that would be the end of it.

Swimming a little closer with just her head poking above the surface, she quietly started to sing just loud enough to grab the little one's attention. It worked, and the little girl's blue eyes turned in her direction. The sun was only bright enough for her to see every detail of the raven child's face even without the need for her night vision, which had to mean that the little one could see her just fine too.

She smiled at the human girl and beckoned her closer with a webbed finger, retracting her claws to seem less scary. She wanted the girl to come closer, not go crying to her father - who was still distracted, talking to his boyfriend about plans to move in together. The two men seemed familiar somehow, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Memory wasn't what was important right now. It was the little girl who started coming closer in curiosity when she flashed her blue tail above the water behind her head. Children were always attracted to beautiful things, or seemingly harmless and never seen before by those pure, innocent big blue eyes.

The raven was actively comparing her to storybooks and movies, curious but cautious. Only one of the films she had seen in her life about mermaids so far had been a horror film. Still, the number of nice mermaids she had seen on TV outweighed, and she was making that percentile connection. Gambling that because the mermaid in front of her was beautiful like the nicer ones on TV, then she must not be like the dark, ugly creatures that she saw in that one horror movie. If only the little girl knew the mermaid she walked closer to was a thing of her worst nightmare.

Still, she walked closer, the waves flowing between her bare legs until it reached the end of her red shorts high up on her little thighs. The siren smiled toothlessly and sweetly, attracting the child's attention to her magnificence and not her less than welcoming intentions. As the little thing got closer, she noticed that she could hear her tiny heart beating faster and faster, and her scent was becoming tainted with fear.

No good, the siren looked for a different tactic and had to put in a conscious effort not to grin mischievously.

"It's okay, sweetie. Come closer, I just wanna talk," the siren said just loud enough for her to hear. The child was now of equal distance between her father and the mermaid, actively trying not to drool.

"What are you?" The girl asked.

The siren giggled to seem nice, "I'm just a mermaid. I think you're pretty, and I don't get to talk to humans that often. I'm lonely."

The child dropped her chin, her expression seeming worried but still sad, "I'm sorry you're lonely."

The siren rested her hands on the sandy floor just below her body and tilted her head to the side, her long black hair flowing in every direction around her. "Why do you seem afraid, child? Please come closer."

The girl paused, taking a couple steps forward but still much too out of reach for the siren to grab. "Well, Dan has told me some stories about mermaids. He says that they aren't very nice and that I shouldn't trust you."

Smart man, "Aww, he probably just never got to know our kind. We are misunderstood because we are different." She glanced over at the two males, one white-haired and the other practically the spitting image of the child a few feet from her. The itch of familiarity knawed at her flesh, she knew she had to have seen them before.

The child hummed and took a slow step closer.

_Closer now._

"Well, Dan said that he used to hang out with your kind all the time, we even play games of mermaid tag with Daddy. He said it was because I need to always run away from mermaids like you, and he always said it was because you would not hesitate to take me away and eat me all up." Tiny thumbs twitted together, but the siren could smell that the nerves started to fall away as wonder at seeing such a fantastic creature won over. Those books and beautiful stories of love overpowered the fear this 'Dan' guy tried to instill over her species.

The siren stared at the white-haired man for a while, taking in the man's appearance and reading his thoughts. He was sad even with the amount of happiness in his heart.

"Come closer, we can play Mermaid-tag together," she held out a clawed hand for the girl to take. Just a little closer...

"You..." the child hesitated, "You won't eat me?"

Suddenly recognition hit her, and red eyes widened as she remembered Phantom. What a strange coincidence. She hadn't seen him in almost 21 years since Hades shamed and banished him to the humans. She thought that he was living his human life miserably, doomed to rot in an unfamiliar and primitive world. However, as she looked at him now, he didn't seem to have any regrets. In fact, he was covered in that scent that she recognized humans had whenever they were in love. Despite being ice-cold, his heart was warm as he smiled fondly at the human that was only supposed to mean food to their kind.

What was love?

She thought it was a myth.

Sirens weren't supposed to be capable of it, but here Phantom was with the same human that Hades punished him over. As if the cruel punishment that their god bestowed on him meant absolutely nothing. Why would a siren do all that for a _human_?

She looked back at the human child, slowly reaching out towards her and smiled again. "Of course, I won't, child, you're my friend now."

She had thought she had seen everything, but she was starting to wonder if that was true.

Merpeople... they were cold-hearted and ruthless, merciless in the most animalistic of ways. Surely they hadn't been fooled all their lives? Surely they were genuinely incapable of feeling as a human could. Surely they hadn't been bred and conditioned to believe something that was not true, they were heartless; they had to be. Why else would they still serve Hades? Phantom had to be wrong, defective.

So why did Phantom give up everything he had for this one meaningless human? Why did he not beg for forgiveness and prove himself as the siren he once was? How could he be living so happily with something so beneath him?

What did he see that she didn't?

What was there that she didn't understand?

Fingertips and scales barely touched each other and-

"Dani," The raven male called, and the siren sunk below the surface before she could be seen by either of the adults.

The child turned her head to look at her father, and when their eyes landed on each other, the adult's eyes widened. "Dani, come back. You know it's not safe out there at this time of the day."

In fear of being scolded by her father and of being punished for disobeying, Dani quickly made her way back to the shore, "I'm sorry, Daddy, I just made a new friend with a pretty fish."

The siren peaked her head up a little ways away and watched her supper escape back to her family. Of course, she could have just grabbed the child right then, but something stopped her. Phantom seemed to love the humans just as much as they loved him. But she knew that he still had the mind of a siren. He always had his memories and even had the same soul that used to only find joy in the suffering of humans, Hades didn't take that away from him. So how could he be associating himself with them so sweetly? As if he wasn't a creature that once only terrorized mankind simply to satiate the emptiness that was entirely their souls. They lived for one purpose, and one purpose only, and it hadn't changed in thousands and thousands of years. So why did Phantom think a human was worth it?

The father grinned nervously as the child stepped onto semi-dry land. The tiny rocks sticking to her wet feet and ankles, "Well, Dani, there are bigger fish out there that may want to eat little girls like you right up. Sharks hunt-."

"You mean mermaids? No, Daddy, the one I talked to just now was really nice."

While the raven laughed it off as a child's imagination, Phantom stiffened and looked out at the horizon. The setting sun making the water look orange and his white hair a pale pink color that drifted in the slight breeze.

"A mermaid, huh?" Phantom asked quietly, mapping out the fastest way to the car. He knew from experience that the sirens wouldn't be migrating. He was sure to direct Danny to this part of the beach because it was the farthest from the cove that more and more reported disappearances were. Sirens shouldn't be out this far, so was it for real, or was it just a little girl playing a game?

"Yes! She was stunning with long black hair and had a beautiful long blue tail. She had a white necklace on too with cherry-red eyes. Red is my new favorite color." As Dani explained the siren's appearance as said mermaid watched on curiously, almost fondly as Phantom's eyes landed on the rocks that she hid behind.

_Yes, you would know this is where I'd be stalking, Phantom._

"I think it's maybe time to go," Phantom said nervously as he grabbed both of the ravens' hands.

"Aww, but Dan, you're the only one who hasn't even _touched_ the water yet." Dani complained, "Can't we stay a little longer?"

Phantom looked down at her pleading eyes, almost regretting taking his eyes off the rocks. "Dani, you know I don't go in the ocean." He turned and started helping Danny gather their stuff together to leave.

The little girl hummed thoughtfully, "Is it because you're scared of the mermaids?"

Phantom gave the little girl a nod as he folded the beach towel, adjusting his Fenton earplugs and wondering what would be happening right then if he didn't have them on.

One could never be too careful.

Phantom looked down at big blue eyes and grinned, "I am absolutely terrified," and he wasn't afraid to admit it.

Packing up what was left, Danny glanced over to his boyfriend, watching as his shaking hands put the towel in the beach bag and practically threw the rest of their stuff in it. His whole body appeared to tremble slightly. Danny frowned when he noticed that he was looking at the ocean every few seconds as if he was terrified of something.

"Dan, what's wrong? You seem really frightened," He asked low enough so Dani couldn't hear as she gathered her toys.

Phantom looked up at Danny. That's right, Danny never actually believed in mermaids. He didn't remember what Dan actually was or what they went through together. As content as Phantom was with their life now, sometimes the ex-merman wished Danny would remember everything someday soon. Then maybe he could understand why he was so scared of the ocean.

Desiree watched on as they finished packing up their stuff. She supposed she would have to find her dinner somewhere else. Giving Phantom one last look, she decided that she would experiment. Exploit this new discovery to the rest of the sirens so that they may one day all understand why Phantom did what he did. If what Phantom believed in was true, then they had all been lied to. What she just witnessed would be a turning point in their history, and as she promised to spread the word, she watched at Phantom's little family entered their car.

Reaching a hand out as a first step to what was hopefully a new and more meaningful life, Desiree bid Phantom farewell as her eyes glowed red with power.

"And so you have wished it..."

...

The end.


End file.
